The format and sequence of the previous Part 3 is continued for this Part 4.

II. The second monumental event pointing toward the end of the universe and time is the SUDDEN SPECTCULAR TRANSFORMATION of the last faithful Christians alive on earth. 

A. This TRANSFORMATION is explicitly taught in1 Corinthians 15:51-52. 

“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be TRANSFORMED, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we SHALL BE TRANSFORMED.”

B. Also in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. 

“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ will rise FIRST. Then we who are alive, who remain, SHALL BE CAUGHT UP together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.” 

This biblical “CAUGHT UP” is synonymous with the clause “we shall be transformed” in 1 Corinthians 15:52. However, it is definitively NOT synonymous with the aforementioned “RAPTURE” as taught by Pentecostals, many evangelicals, and other religious groups—a subject scrutinized under the magnifying glass of intense analysis in Section Ten of this Commentary. https://www.peacepublishers.org/revelation-dewayne-shappley-analyze

C. This same TRANSFORMATION appears in the vision of the “TWO WITNESSES.” “But after the three and a half days the breath of life from God entered them [into the “two witnesses” who had been overcome] and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, ‘Come up here.’ And THEY WENT UP TO HEAVEN IN A CLOUD; and their enemies saw them”. Revelation 11:11-12

For an exhaustive eight-part study on the “two witnesses,” following is the link for Part 1. https://www.peacepublishers.org/revelation-commentary-7/god%E2%80%99s-rod-measures-church%2C-worship%2C-worshippers.-revelation-trumpet-6

D. Furthermore, this transformation is presented in Revelation 14:14-16 as the FIRST HARVEST of the human population of Planet Earth. 

"I looked, and behold, a white cloud; and seated on the cloud one like a Son of Man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud: Put in your sickle and reap; because the hour to reap has come, for 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." Revelation 14:14-16

1. Two harvests of the earth are presented in the vision of Revelation 14:14-20. The First Harvest is described in verses 14 through 16; the Second, in verses 17 through 20. Below, we note some important differences between the two harvests. 

a) The heavenly BEING who carries out the First Harvest comes on a “white cloud,” having “on his head a golden crown.” Revelation 14:14. This is the glorified Christ [See Number 2 below]. In contrast, the one who executes the Second Harvest is an angel who comes out “from the temple which is in heaven.” Revelation 14:17

b) In carrying out the First Harvest, the “Son of Man” puts in his sickle and reaps "the harvest of the earth.” Revelation 14:15. “The harvest” consists of ripe cereals. “Harvest (Mies). (From Latin messis). f. Cereal from whose seed bread is made. 2. Time of reaping and harvesting grains. 3. Multitude of people converted to the Christian faith, or ready for their conversion. 4. Cantb. Set of sown fields in a valley. Used mostly in plural. 5. Sown fields.” Microsoft® Encarta® All rights reserved 

In contrast, while executing the Second Harvest, the angel “gathered the clusters of the earth, because its GRAPES are RIPE.” Revelation 14:18. We see, then, that “The clusters of… ripe… grapes” stand in notable contrast with “the harvest of the earth,” that is, the RIPE GRAIN.

c) While the destiny of the human beings reaped by Christ—symbolized by “the harvest”—is not explicitly reported in the vision, verses 19 and 20 reveal to us the tragic end of those represented by “the grapes,” namely: they will be trodden in “the great winepress of the wrath of God.”  

2. Analysis of the FIRST "HARVEST OF THE EARTH." 

a) The attributes of the Being who performs the First Harvest identify him as the glorified Christ. Let us consider them: 

(1) "And behold a white cloud; and upon the cloud sat one like the Son of Man." The being "like the Son of Man" is, without a doubt, Christ the King himself, for he is the one who comes in the clouds. Revelation 1:7; 1 Thessalonians 4:17; Matthew 24:30; Acts 1:9-11. The comparison "Like the Son of Man” is made since the context is that of a vision that the apostle John saw, and not the actual event of the First Harvest of the earth to be carried out toward the end of the future “little time.”

(2) "Having on his head a crown of gold." Christ is King of the Spiritual Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15:25-28), having “all authority… in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18) during the Common Era. The title “King” implies a “crown.” In his role as “King of kings,” Christ has “on his head many diadems” (Revelation 19:12), that is, crowns. According to the revelation of the First Seal, to Christ “…a crown was given, and he went out conquering, and to conquer.” Revelation 6:2. By carefully analyzing the First Seal in Section Three of this Commentary, we will see that the rider of the “white horse” is Jesus Christ. 

b) Christ has "in his hand a sharp sickle." “Sickle. (From Lat. falx, falcis). f. An instrument used for reaping grain and grass, composed of a steel blade, curved, with very sharp and cutting teeth or with an edge on the concave part, secured in a wooden handle.” Microsoft® Reference Library. In the context of this prophecy, the “sickle” symbolizes the harvest of the righteous souls living on earth as the “short time” reaches its culmination—an action synonymous with the transformation of the true and faithful followers of the "living God" at that extremely difficult hour.

c) " 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 hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he who sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped." Revelation 14:14-16

(1) “…the HOUR to reap has come.” That is, the HOUR has come to TRANSFORM the last last human beings faithful to God living on earth, who are aggressively, violently besieged by Satan and his deceived nations as they surround “the camp of the saints and the beloved city.” Revelation 20:7-9

(2) An “angel” carries the following message to Christ: “Thrust in your sickle and reap; for the hour to reap has come.” Why does the angel come “out of the temple” of God in heaven with this message for the Christ sitting on the cloud? We reason that it is because Jesus Christ himself had no knowledge of “the exact hour” scheduled by his “God and Father” for these actions. 

“But of that day and hour NO ONE KNOWS, not even the angels in heaven, NOR the SON, but the FATHER.” Mark 13:32. Therefore, the Father, having set the hour but not disclosing it to any other being, sends the angel with this information, which was unknown until that moment, to the Christ sitting on “the cloud” .

Consequently, this vision received by the apostle John on the island of Patmos in 95 CE harmonizes perfectly with the declaration made by Jesus Christ in Jerusalem in the year 30 CE. Indeed, Christ did not know “the hour” to initiate the interventions related to his Second Coming until he received the message sent by God the Father through the angel who says: “…the HOUR to reap has come.”

Truly, all this is a wonderful HARMONY of teachings and actions by different authors in different places and times! Furthermore, it serves as an excellent and undeniable confirmation of the legitimacy and value of the Book of Revelation, providing edification and comfort for Christians throughout the Common Era.

(3) “…and the earth was reaped.” That is, “the harvest of the earth” was gathered. Let it be noted: It is not all the inhabitants of the “earth in all the world,” but only the dwellers of the earth specifically represented by “the harvest.” Due to the differences already brought to light, in Part D, 1 above, between the First Harvest and the Second, we conclude that the two harvests are not parallel events. From this conclusion follows another, to wit: That “…the earth was reaped” refers, rhetorically, to the transformation of the faithful followers of God and Christ alive on earth when “the hour” to reap arrives. These will be “transformed.” “We shall not all sleep; but we shall all be transformed” (1 Corinthians 15:51), clarifies the apostle Paul. 

Transformed indeed—let it be noted—without experiencing physical death, for such is the blessing that the righteous and just, the humble and obedient to God and Christ who are still alive in "the camp of the saints and the beloved city" will receive—that is, in the true Spiritual Kingdom of God and Christ, wherever it exists on earth when the day of the end arrives.

(a) Let it be absolutely clear: These true and loyal citizens of the Spiritual Kingdom of God, do NOT take up carnal weapons with the purpose of physically fighting against the deceived nations. They do not even possess carnal military resources, for their Kingdom is SPIRITUAL. John 18:36; 2 Corinthians 10:3-8; Ephesians 6:10-20. Their only hope rests in the Lord, who will not delay in delivering them from the enemy, transforming them, and taking them with Him so that they may accompany Him in His appearing “a second time, apart from sin.” Hebrews 9:27-28

(b) Again, we are taught that the deceived nations do not succeed in totally destroying the church during the "short time." Although obstructed and heavily harassed, the church remains on earth during Era referred to. Nevertheless, the danger for the church truly loyal to its only head, Jesus Christ, according to his dictates in his New Testament, increases in an alarming way during the last days of the period, resulting in the violent death of some of the faithful and the cessation of the church's evangelistic work. The two witnesses of God are killed, but “after three and a half days” they are resurrected! Revelation 11:7-11

Suddenly, miraculous deliverance comes for them when all the righteous alive at that hour are transformed "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye" (1 Corinthians 15:51-52), being "caught up... in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air." 1 Thessalonians 4:17. Then, “great fear” falls upon the enemies of God—those who personally witness this tremendously amazing event. Revelation 11:12. But it is already too late for them, for the time of divine grace will have ended, and there will no longer be any remedy for them. 2 Chronicles 36:16

3. The Second Harvest is to be analyzed in another part of this Commentary. Here, we limit ourselves to the following quote and the accompanying observation. “…another angel, who had power over fire” thrusts his sickle into the earth “and gathered the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe”, throwing “them into the great winepress of the wrath of God.” Revelation 14:18-20. Since the Second Harvest obviously concerns stubborn sinful human beings and those disobedient until the end, the First Harvest would logically be that of the righteous people alive on earth when Christ appears in the sky with His “heavenly armies.”

E. Having been transformed, faithful followers of God and Christ do not experience in their own flesh the great catastrophes that immediately follow the First Harvest upon the enemies of God. 

1. To the best of our knowledge, no biblical text teaches that such faithful followers must remain on earth during the final agonizing hours of the material universe's destruction.

2. Supposing, for a moment, that there would be such authentic followers on earth during those painful final hours; would they suffer the terrible impact of the “great earthquake, such a mighty earthquake, as had never occurred…”? And that of the “great hail about the weight of a talent…”? Or that of mighty “lightnings and voices and thunders?” In short, that of “the seven last plagues”? How would such faithful followers avoid it? Would God take extraordinary, miraculous measures to deliver them from these catastrophes prophesied for the day of the end? Would they have to personally witness the sudden divine punishments that will fall upon the deceived nations during those final hours?

3. To my understanding, the faithful of the Lord will be delivered from such frightful experiences, being transformed before the "great earthquake" and the other prophesied destructive events occur, which will result in the violent death of the enemies of God as well as the subsequent total disintegration of Planet Earth and the entire material universe. This thesis is supported by the following: 

a) The previously presented explanation of the First Harvest of the earth, according to which Christians are harvested—that is, transformed—before the sinners are harvested.

b) Also, the prophecy about the death, resurrection, and ascension of the “two witnesses,” for these are revived and taken to heaven before the terminal destruction of their enemies on earth. 

See not only the comments made in this regard previously, but also the more extensive exposition on the “two witnesses” presented in this Commentary.

https://www.peacepublishers.org/revelation-commentary-7/god%E2%80%99s-rod-measures-church%2C-worship%2C-worshippers.-revelation-trumpet-6

c) Furthermore, the prophecy and the comments of the Lord Jesus Christ in Luke 21:24-36 support this thesis. Especially the clause: “…ESCAPE all these things that will come.”. HOW WILL THEY ESCAPE THEM? Let us pay attention to the sequence of events projected in his long-range prophecy. 

(1) Reference is to the prophecy about Jerusalem and the times of the gentiles: “Jerusalem will be trampled by the gentiles, until the times of the gentiles are fulfilled.” Luke 21:24

Was Jerusalem trampled by the gentiles only for a few years during the the decade of the 60s of the 1st century of the Common Era? Absolutely not! Historically, the city was trampled underfoot for centuries by the Roman Empire, and then for many more centuries by the conquering Muslims. Obviously, this prophecy of the Lord spans long centuries, not just a few years. Were “the times of the gentiles” fulfilled and did Christ return personally for the "SECOND TIME" in the year 70 CE? NO, HE DID NOT! On the contrary, the year 70 marked the beginning of “the times of the gentiles,” which would last until June of 1967, when Jerusalem was completely delivered from the dominion of the gentiles during the Six-Day War.  

In the photograph at the right, the Arab gentiles conquered Jerusalem in the 7th century, governing it for long centuries. Click the following link for detailed studies on this history. https://www.peacepublishers.org/additional-prophecies/times-of-gentiles-fulfilled-in-1967-when-jews-conquer-all-of-jerusalem

The prophetic words of Jesus Christ regarding “the times of the Gentiles” teach us that the Son of God contemplated, at that moment, not only the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish temple in the first century but also subsequent events and conditions—including some related to the end of the entire world and of time itself.

In the Sacred Scriptures of God the Father and Jesus Christ, both say in different contexts that they "came" or "would come" upon peoples, rulers, or nations by means of certain actions or manifestations. Only in this sense did Jesus Christ “come” or “manifest himself” in the year 70 CE in judgment and punishment on the unbelieving Jews, doing so by means of the Roman armies. At that time, he did not come personally. He did not come “in the clouds,” in year 70 CE. He will only come personally "a SECOND TIME, apart from sin,” (Hebrews 9:27-28) when he comes “in the clouds," and "every eye will see him." This will be after “the times of the Gentiles” are concluded, and more specifically, at the end of the “short time,” when “the mystery of God” is about to be finished. Revelation 10:5-7

Revelation 2:16 is an example of the texts alluded to above. Addressing the first-century church of Christ in Pergamum, Jesus says: "Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth." Obviously, not an affirmation of his personal Second Coming at the end of the "little time."

(2) Prophecies of Jesus Christ for the “LITTLE TIME.” Luke 21:25-27; Revelation 20:1-10

“And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”  The dreadful picture that the Lord Jesus Christ describes is very similar to the scenario that the Holy Spirit describes in Revelation for the fearful “SHORT TIME." Revelation 6:12-17; 16:12-21; 20:1-10. My opinion is that he was contemplating the aforementioned “time” when pronouncing the cited prophecies.

(3) Later in his discourse, Jesus Christ addresses the possibility to “ESCAPE all these things that shall come to take place.” “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to ESCAPE all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” Luke 21:36

(a) In the first century, many followers of God and Christ in Jerusalem and Judea, duly warned by the prophecies of Jesus himself in Matthew 24:15-22, managed to flee from the great tribulation that befell the Jews of that time when the Roman armies began to devastate Galilee, Samaria, and Judea. That tribulation was greatly increased by the criminal actions against their own people executed by tens of thousands of Jewish Zealots, Idumeans, and followers of the rebel Simon, according to the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus.

“Flavius Josephus (b. 37-38 – Rome, 101) was a Pharisee Jewish historian, descendant of a family of priests. His original name was Yosef bar Mattityahu.” Article Flavius Josephus. www.wikipedia.org

(b) Likewise, when the final hours of agony for the earth arrive, the Lord's true and faithful followers will be able to “escape from all these things that will come.” HOW WILL THEY ESCAPE? Well, logically, as the study highlights, by being TRANSFORMED and CAUGHT UP to meet the Lord in the air! This is in perfect harmony with the teaching of the First Harvest, the transformation of the “two witnesses,” the teaching of 1 Corinthians 15:51-53, and that of 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

Is not this harmony of teachings imparted by Jesus Christ, the apostle Paul, and the apostle John at different times and places during their ministries truly splendid? Truly wonderful! Jesus Christ, in Jerusalem, in the year 30. Paul, in Ephesus, between 53 and 55 AD. John, on the island of Patmos, in 95 AD.

(c) Returning to the comparison of Luke 21:25-36 with Matthew 24:15-22, although the similarity between the two events is significant, certain differences can also be discerned. For example, in Matthew 24:15-22, a single earthly city is in focus, namely, the Jerusalem of the first century. In contrast, in Luke 21:25-36, the future period of the “short time” and the entire planet Earth are contemplated. “For as a snare it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth.” Luke 21:35

Some commentators apply this proclamation of Christ only to Galilee, Judea, and perhaps Samaria in the 1st century. However, let us not lose sight of the much broader vision the Lord Jesus Christ made known when he spoke of “the times of the Gentiles.” “Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” Luke 21:24. The Gentiles indeed inhabit “the face of all the earth,” and wherever they dwell, their “times” are being fulfilled until they are completely fulfilled according to God's design. Luke 21:24. This fact leads us to think that the expression  “the face of all the earth” is synonymous with other similar expressions, such as “the earth in all the world.” Revelation 16:14