Wheat Harvest Prophecy

Wheat Harvest Prophecy

 

Introduction

Next in a series of Harvests & Celebrations studies is Wheat Harvest Prophecy. Knowing the details and terminology concerning the wheat harvest helps to understand prophecy in scripture, as well as, what God’s plan is for his people.

The Wheat, the Tares, & the Appointed Harvest

The good wheat seeds are associated with the children of the kingdom, while the tares are the children of the wicked one.

1 Corinthians 15:38 KJV - "But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body."

Matthew 13:24-25 KJV - "24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: 25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way."

Matthew 13:37-38 KJV - "37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;" 38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;

(of the kingdom: basilěía)

Thayer’s Greek Lexicon (basilěía): “are those to whom the prophetic promise of the heavenly kingdom extends: used of the Jews, [Matthew 8:12]; of those gathered out of all nations who have shown themselves worthy of a share in this kingdom, [Matthew 13:38]."

The wicked, the unsaved, and the unfruitful believer look the same in sin. If prematurely gathered, those who have not produced fruit yet may be cast out.

Matthew 13:28-29 KJV - "28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? 29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them."

God is patiently waiting for all the fruit of the earth to ripen.

James 5:7 KJV - "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain."

As Jesus Christ, the Lord, is the husbandman for the harvest of souls, the labor of his hands through the Holy Spirit will produce a bountiful overlapping harvest of souls.

Leviticus 26:5 KJV - "And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely."

As crops produce fruit, either good or bad, the works of mankind are also either good or bad. The fruits a person produces will determine their harvest experience.

Jeremiah 32:19 KJV -"Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:"

The children of the kingdom are called to bear much fruit; that is through being a steward of God's grace, making manifest good works by the power of the Holy Spirit.

John 15:8 KJV - "Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples."

Ephesians 3:2, 7 KJV - "2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: ... 7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power."

At the end of the world, when the harvest is ready, the children of the wicked one are gathered first; with all things that offend and do iniquity, they are bound to be burned. The children of the kingdom are gathered at that time and the darkness will no longer restrain them.

Matthew 13:30 KJV - "Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn."

Matthew 13:39-43 KJV - "39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. 40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. 41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear."

This same meaning of the parable is reiterated using fish harvesting terminology in Matthew 13:47-50.

Matthew 13:47-50 KJV - "47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: 48 Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. 49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, 50 And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth."

Both the good and bad are drawn at the same time and separated. The wicked are cast away and the good were stored.

Wheat Cultivating and Maturing

As ripe wheat kernels fall and are carried away by the wind to be pollinated into new ground and bear more fruit through giving rise to new wheat stalks, the children of the kingdom are to die to themselves and allow the spirit of God to carry them to preach the saving gospel message and help others spiritually grow, so more fruit will be produced.

John 3:8 KJV - "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit."

John 12:24 KJV - "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit."

1 Corinthians 15:36-37 KJV - "36 Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: 37 And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:"

Psalm 126:5-6 KJV - "5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. 6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

Though the children of the kingdom are wheat, they are also entrusted by God to be laborers (husbandmen): to sow the word of God in order that God may reap fruit from it.

Luke 10:2 KJV - "Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest." (See also Matthew 9:37-38)

John 4:35-36 KJV - "35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. 36 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal:" (Read in context vs. 35-38)

Matthew 25:26 KJV - "His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:"

Luke 19:22 KJV - "And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:"

God utilizes threshing as part of the purifying process of his people. Though God's people may be chastised and bruised during threshing, they are not destroyed.

Isaiah 28:28 KJV - "Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen."

Jeremiah 30:11 KJV - "For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished."

The husbandmen who labor for the wheat, that is those who preach and or disciple souls for Christ, will see resistance and a wondering away.

Isaiah 21:10 KJV - "O my threshing, and the corn of my floor: that which I have heard of the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you."

Jeremiah 23:28-29 KJV - "28 The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD. 29 Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?” (Read in context vs. 28-32)

James 5:4 KJV - "Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth." (Read in context vs. 4-8)

Proverbs 27:22 KJV - "Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him."

Joel 1:11 KJV - "Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished."

(perished: H6)

Strong's Hebrew 6 - "אָבַד ʼâbad; a primitive root; properly, to wander away, i.e. lose oneself; by implication to perish"

As God brings threshing to purge evil, the devil is working against God to purge the good.

Luke 22:31-32 KJV - "31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: 32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren."

Time of Harvest

Ripe & Reaping

The daughter of Babylon will be threshed in the time of her harvest.

Jeremiah 51:33 KJV - "For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of Babylon is like a threshingfloor, it is time to thresh her: yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come."

As soon as the harvest is declared ready, the wheat will immediately be cut.

Mark 4:28-29 KJV - "28 For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. 29 But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come."

Recall that the harvest is the end of the world and the reapers are the angels.

​Matthew 13:39, 49 KJV - "39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels... 49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,"

In the book of Revelation, John describes the time in which the angels are told to reap the harvest of the earth. Recall that cereal grains are the only major crop referred to as the fruit of the earth.

Revelation 14:15-16 KJV - "15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. 16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped."

 (Verses 17-20 continue in describing the grape harvest that follows.) 

​Threshing

Threshing wheat is directly associated with tribulation. All of God's children will undergo tribulation. The more obedient a child of God is, the less pressure is needed to separate them from ungodliness.

Recall the word "tribulum" (from The Grain Crops): a threshing sledge that is used to put pressure on crops like wheat to purify it by separating it from its chaff. Overtime, the word "tribulum" evolved into the Middle English word, "tribulation".

Acts 14:22 KJV - "Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God."

Revelation 2:10 KJV - "Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."

Revelation 2:22 KJV - "Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds."

(tribulation G2346)

Strong's Greek 2347 - "θλῖψις thlipsis; from 2346; pressure (literally or figuratively) 

When wheat is hauled to the threshing floor, the grape harvest soon follows and Jacob (Israel) will also be brought low.

Isaiah 17:4-6 KJV - "4 And in that day it shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean. 5 And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; and it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim. 6 Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof, saith the LORD God of Israel." 

(View context vs. 1-14)

Isaiah 17:1-14 KJV - "1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. 2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid. 3 The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the LORD of hosts. 4 And in that day it shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean. 5 And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; and it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim. 6 Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof, saith the LORD God of Israel. 7 At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel. 8 And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall respect that which his fingers have made, either the groves, or the images. 9 In that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the children of Israel: and there shall be desolation. 10 Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips: 11 In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow. 12 Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters! 13 The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind. 14 And behold at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us."

(See Gesenius Hebrew Lexicon for glory, made thin, and wax lean)

Israel's glory: 

Gesenius Hebrew Lexicon (kâbôwd): “honour, glory… the glory of Israel, the nobility, nobles… [Isaiah 17:3-4] 

shall be made thin: 

Gesenius Hebrew Lexicon (dâlal): “to be enfeebled, to be brought low, of a people… [Isaiah 17:4]”

Israel's flesh will wax lean: 

Gesenius Hebrew Lexicon (râzâh): “properly to make thin and lean; hence to make waste away, to consume, to destroy”

Winnowing

The ungodly are the chaff. God will send a winnowing shovel (fan) and wind to cause his people to scatter and the ungodly to blow away into destruction; just as wheat is when it is winnowed.

Psalm 1:4 KJV - "The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away."

Isaiah 33:11 KJV - "Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath, as fire, shall devour you."

Psalm 35:1, 5 KJV - "1 [[A Psalm of David.]] Plead my cause, O LORD, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me. ... 5 Let them be as chaff before the wind: and let the angel of the LORD chase them."

Jeremiah 15:6-7 KJV - "6 Thou hast forsaken me, saith the LORD, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am weary with repenting. 7 And I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children, I will destroy my people, since they return not from their ways."

Jeremiah 51:1-2 KJV - "1 Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind; 2 And will send unto Babylon fanners, that shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about."

Hosea 13:3 KJV - "Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney."

Isaiah 5:24 KJV - "Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel."

Zephaniah 2:2-3 KJV - "2 Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD'S anger come upon you. 3 Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD'S anger."

The time when cleansing is complete the children of the kingdom are gathered into his garner and the ungodly are destroyed.

Matthew 3:12 KJV - "Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

(Repeated in Luke 3:17)  (purge: G1245)

Strong's Greek 1245 - διακαθαρίζω diakatharizō; from 1223 and 2511; to cleanse perfectly, i.e. (specially) winnow

With the end of winnowing, the direction of the winds changed and the West winds would strive against the east winds. Likewise, those who drive away God's people will be chased away.

Isaiah 17:13 KJV - "The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind."

Isaiah 29:5 KJV - "Moreover the multitude of thy strangers shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the terrible ones shall be as chaff that passeth away: yea, it shall be at an instant suddenly."

Provender, Sifting & Grinding

God will usher in wrath through the whirlwind, sifting, grinding into powder, (and grape pressing: see The Grape Harvest). Kingdoms will be ground to debris and carried away with the wind. The tares (children of the wicked one) and chaff (the ungodly) are cast into the fire. Provender will be left for the animals.

Isaiah 30:24-28 KJV - "24 The oxen likewise and the young asses that ear the ground shall eat clean provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan. 25 And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. 26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound. 27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire: 28 And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err."

Amos 9:8-10 KJV - "8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the LORD. 9 For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth. 10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us."

Revelation 18:21 KJV - "And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all." (Read in context Revelation 18)

Daniel 2:34-35 KJV - "34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. 35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth."

Additional Scriptures

View additional scriptures that refer to wheat or use terminology from The Wheat Harvest.

Zechariah 12:6 KJV - "In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem."

Isaiah 25:10 KJV - "For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill."

Isaiah 41:14-16 KJV - "14 Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. 15 Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff. 16 Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the LORD, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel."

Micah 4:12-13 KJV - "12 But they know not the thoughts of the LORD, neither understand they his counsel: for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor. 13 Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the LORD, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth."

Habakkuk 3:12 KJV - "Thou didst march through the land in indignation, thou didst thresh the heathen in anger."

Amos 1:3 KJV - "Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron:"

Jeremiah 31:12 KJV - "Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all."

Joel 2:23-24 KJV - "23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. 24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil."

Amos 8:5-6 KJV - "5 Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit? 6 That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?"

Revelation 6:5-6 KJV - "5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine."

Conclusion

As the barley represents the faithful who "fell asleep" before Jesus Christ's resurrection, the children of the kingdom are likened unto the wheat and husbandmen who cultivate the wheat.

Similarly to the trepidation that comes with watching and cultivating wheat, there will be some who fail to produce fruits of faith, others who will resist releasing from the chaff of evil works, some who will die to themselves to produce even more fruit, still others who will reserve their faith to themselves; and then there are those who portray themselves to be the children of the kingdom, but are tares who cross-pollinate like a plague and whose fruits are destructive to the children of the kingdom.  

Every sprout of wheat has the potential to thrive and produce fruit. All will be known at the time of harvest. God patiently awaits for the harvest of souls that the reaping may be bountiful.