2 Harvests at the time of the end

There are two harvests at the time of the end:  one is the harvest of the saints, and the other is the judgment of the nations through war, both come in connection with the "Day of the Lord," which is the second coming of Christ.

Joel speaks of a harvest:  "Let the nations be wakened and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; For there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down; For the winepress is full, the vats overflow— For their wickedness is great." Joel 3:12-13

Joel connects this harvest with the "day of the Lord": "Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.  The sun and moon will grow dark,  and the stars will diminish their brightness." Joel 3:14-15  

The "day of the Lord" is preceded by the cosmic events of Joel 3:15:   "And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke.  The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD." Joel 2:30-31

The cosmic events come after the "great tribulation," and so the "Day of the Lord" comes after the great tribulation, Jesus said:,  "21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. ...  29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."  Matthew 24:21, 29-31

Luke also records Jesus saying, "25 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; 26 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.  27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near." Luke 21:25-28 

The Revelation of Christ says:  "I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. 13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. 14 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. 15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?" Revelation 6:12-17

The above Scriptures connect the cosmic events with the end of the "Great Tribulation," to be followed by the "Day of the Lord" which is the coming wrath of the "Son of man," the "lamb of God," to gather the elect and to judge the nations.

The Revelation of Christ speaks of two harvests to come:  The first harvest is the gathering of the elect, and the second harvest is the judgment of nations.

The first harvest would correspond to the gathering of the elect at Christ's coming: "4 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. 15 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.' 16 So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped." Revelation 14:14-16

The second Harvest is the judgment of nations through war: "17 Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 18 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." 19 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. 20 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." Revelation 14:17-20

The sixth Bowl of wrath of Revelation speaks of preparing the way for the great battle of "Armageddon" for when Jesus comes as a "thief":  the battle of Armageddon is the gathering of nations and the harvest spoken by the prophet Joel; it is the second harvest to follow that first harvest which is the gathering of the elect:  "12 Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. 13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.  15 "Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame."  16 And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon." Revelation 16:12-16

The two harvests of Revelation are two different kinds of reaping at the end of the Great Tribulation: the first one being the gathering of the elect, and the second one being the judgment of nations through war by the coming of Christ for that great day called the "Day of the Lord."

How Far will the economic system of the AntiChrist reach?

The kings and kingdoms of Daniel 2 were of the Mediterranean world.  We live in a much different world today, so how far reaching the antichrist economic system will reach probably goes beyond the Mediterranean world, but I don't think in 3 1/2 years (the "Great Tribulation" period) it will get completely implemented. However, the handling of Covid and the vaccine does reveal that the beast economic system could get implemented in many countries in a relatively short period.    The beast will have a lot of opposition near the end, if the last part of Daniel 11 speaks of that opposition (see Daniel 11:40-45).  Believing the rapture happens at the end of the great tribulation, there must be a lot of people (See Isaiah 66:18-21) who are not saved and yet did not take the Mark of the beast, and they will believe in Christ when he comes, just like many Jews will, and these will enter the kingdom in flesh and blood bodies.  

Daniel 11:40-45 reveals opposition towards the beast:

40 "At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. 41 He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. 42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels. 44 But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many. 45 And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him."  

Isaiah 66:18-21 reveals that some will believe in Christ after He comes:

"For I know their works and their thoughts. It shall be that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory. I will set a sign among them; and those among them who escape I will send to the nations: to Tarshish and Pul and Lud, who draw the bow, and Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles. Then they shall bring all your brethren for an offering to the LORD out of all nations, on horses and in chariots and in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem," says the LORD, "as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD. And I will also take some of them for priests and Levites," says the LORD." 

Jesus warned and instructed concerning the coming affliction.

Jesus instructed his disciples to expect persecution and affliction ("tribulation") in the near future and in the far future near the time of His return. 

Aligning with Jesus will bring conflict and adversity: 34 "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law'; 36 and a man's enemies will be those of his own household.'" 37 Matthew 10:34-37

Jesus prepared his disciples:  "16 "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore, be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. 17 But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues." Matthew 10:16-17 

Jesus warned them of the severity of the conflict they will face: 21 "Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 22 And you will be hated by all for My name's sake." Matthew 10:21-22   

Jesus reminded his disciples to put their trust in God:  "28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows." Matthew 10:28-31  

All this was what the disciples would face in their lifetime, but it can be the expectation of all believers in their own times. 

There are similar expectations in the far future, near the coming of Christ, though the threat and intensity of persecution will increase as society becomes more opposed to the knowledge of God.

Jesus instructed his disciples on how it will be near the time of the end: 9 "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved." Matthew 24:9-13  

Jesus speaking of that great affliction to come, says, "21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened." Matthew 24:21-22 

But even during that time to come, the believer can still trust God with the same understanding, that "the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows."  The numbering of the hairs of your head is really a figure of speech, saying God has you: you are fully accounted for--nothing can separate you from God. 

"35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: "For Your sake we are killed all day long; 
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35-39

John Walvoord admitted a "Pretribulation rapture" is not explicitly taught in Scripture.

 A "Pretribulation rapture" is not explicitly or expressly taught in Scripture. Dr John Walvoord (a Pretribulationalist) admitted this more than once, though something caused him to remove this admittance from his first release of his book "The Rapture Question."

"Tribulation" is the designation commonly applied to that 7-year period that the book of Daniel calls a "Week" (Daniel 9:27), and that "Week" is understood by many as the "70th Week of Daniel," because it is the unfulfilled part of a prophecy of which the first 69 weeks have been fulfilled in the past.  The "Rapture" (to be "caught up") is the removal of the "Church," that is, living believers from the earth. A "Pretribulation" rapture view believes this catching up can happen at any moment, but at least before the beginning of the "70th Week."  The end of the 70th Week involves the Second Coming of Christ, and so the pretribulation-rapture-view sees Christ coming for His church before the 70th Week begins.

Dr. John Walvoord was a President of Dallas Theological Seminary and wrote many books on theology, especially on Bible Prophecy, and commentaries on Scripture.  I used to believe as he did on the rapture, but later had a change of mind to the posttribulation-rapture-view.   

I want to point out that Walvoord admitted in his book, 'The Rapture Question," that it was a "fact" that "neither Posttribulationalism nor Pretribulationalism is an explicit teaching of Scripture. The Bible does not state in so many words either."  This statement was removed from later printings of his book.  Why did he do it?  I don't know.  My copy of the book reads differently, it says, "The fact is that posttribulationism is an interpretation of Scripture that pretribulationists believe is contradicted by many passages which imply otherwise." 

There was an accusation by certain parties that Walvoord never admitted to what his first printing (1957) of "The Rapture Question" said, since later copies did not have the statements.  Though that first edition can be found, and photocopies of it are available, I found a similar statement by Walvoord many years later in an article he wrote in the "Grace Theological Journal" (Grace Theological Seminary, Winona Lake, Indiana, Fall 1985).  The article was titled, "Is a Posttribulational rapture Revealed in Matthew 24?"  He wrote: "Both pretribulationists and posttribulationists are confronted with the fact that Scripture does not expressly state either view."  So this statement says essentially the same thing as in the first printing of his book.  So why was the book changed, and yet this article many years later admits the same thing that was removed from the book?   

I would like to point out that if the Apostle Paul got his eschatology (the doctrine of last things / prophecy) from the Lord, and there are obvious parallels between the words of Jesus and Paul on end of the age and the coming of Christ, then there are some strong arguments for a posttribulational rapture.

Consider that Jesus said: 

29 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will **gather together His elect **from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."

Matthew 24:29-31

Compare this to what Paul said:

"1 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and **our gathering together to Him**"

2 Thessalonians 2:1