Paul the apostle spoke of the nature of the coming end times harvests.
“For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery… that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved” (Rom. 11:25-26).
Wherever Paul travelled, he took the gospel to the Jews first, then to the Gentiles. But the Jews mostly resisted the gospel on legalistic grounds. This partial hardening of Israel to the gospel will continue “until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.”
The fullness of the nations must come in
Since the first century, we have been living in “the times of the Gentiles”, or of the nations (Lk. 21:24). Jesus said that the end-times will not come until the “gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Mt. 24:14).
So we can expect to see increasing harvests from “all the nations” until the end-times. In fact, even during the end times we will see more harvests. But first, the gospel must reach “all the nations”. Nations (from Greek ethnos) also means ethnic groups or people-groups. Wycliffe Bible Translators estimates that ethnic groups of about 2000 languages still lack a Bible translation, let alone a gospel witness. Wycliffe is working to reach all of them, by the grace of God.
Those ethnic groups also include hundreds of millions of Muslims. They live in countries which now forbid the preaching of the gospel. But the Bible promises that they too will hear the “gospel of the kingdom.”
After the gospel of the kingdom reaches all ethnic groups, “then the end will come” (Mt. 24:14). The Antichrist then “takes his seat in the temple of God” (2 Thess. 2:3-4; see Mt. 24:15). Then the Great Tribulation will begin. The Antichrist will forbid the preaching of the gospel.
Moreover, he will gain power “to make war with the saints and to overcome them”. At the same time, he will gain “authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation [ethnos]” (Rev. 13:7). A great multitude of Christians will die during this Great Tribulation.
The great multitude out of the Great Tribulation
“After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes…
“Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, ‘These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?’ I said to him, ‘My lord, you know.’ And he said to me, ‘These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore…’”(Rev. 7:9,13-16).
Many of them had died of hunger and thirst during the Great Tribulation. For they refused to take the mark, and so could not buy or sell. Others had died in the seal and trumpet plagues that fell during the Great Tribulation.
The 144,000
But a select group of 144,000 faithful Jews—including Gentiles who are true Jews in spirit—will survive. After the breaking of the sixth seal (Rev. 6:12-17), they will receive the seal of divine protection against the trumpet plagues that fall during the Great Tribulation.
“The angel having the seal of the living God… cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, ‘Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.’ And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel.” (Rev. 7:2-4).
The 144,000 will witness to both Jews and Gentiles during the Great Tribulation. until all 144,000 are martyred by the Antichrist (Rev. 6:11). Then after all these witnesses have risen to heaven (Rev. 14:2). another harvest will occur. An angel will come to witness, “having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation [ethnos]and tribe and tongue and people“ (Rev. 14:6).
The wedding feast of the Lamb
So God will keep reaping harvests of Jews and Gentiles who refuse to take the mark of the Antichrist (Rev. 14:9-11,14-16). They will persevere during the Great Tribulation until they die or are raptured (Rev. 14:12-16). Then they will join in the great wedding feast of the Lamb.
“’Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.’ It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.” (Rev. 19:7-8).
Other End-Times Guide articles related to end times harvests:
3 1/2 Years of Great Tribulation
Related sources for end times harvests
Affirming Israel’s borders: Scripture & history.
Bible supports Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Keyword: end times harvests.
Churches prepare for end times harvests.
