Studies in the Scriptures, Volume 7: The Finished Mystery

by C. T. Russell

For the Harvest of the earth is ripe.—“The use of a sickle is to gather wheat, not to ripen it.”

14:16. And He that sat on the cloud.—The Lord Jesus, during His Parousia, overruling and withholding the Time of Trouble.

Thrust in His sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.—Reading verses 13-16 connectedly, we note that the resurrection of the sleeping saints is recorded, and is immediately followed by the Harvest. This suggests that the Harvest proper began in 1878; and that the three and a half years prior to the spring of 1878 was devoted to preliminary work, but not to Harvest work in the full sense. It was not proper to say “Come out of her, My people,” until Babylon was cast off, in the Spring of 1878.—Rev. 3:14; Matt. 13:30; 24:31.

14:17. And another angel.—Pastor Russell himself, after the harvesting of the saints was finished. (Volumes IV, V, VI are not shown in this strictly Harvest chapter, as they are more used for the upbuilding of the saints than as Harvest instruments. They are, however, shown in Rev. 10:4; 15:8; 16:1-18.)

Came out of the Temple which is in Heaven.—The Church in glory, on the other side of the veil.

He also having a sharp sickle.—The privilege of guiding the work of bringing forth out of the Divine Storehouse all the Master's store of provisions, as needed, and of directing the execution upon the nominal church of the chastisements promised in the Holy Word. “Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord when He cometh shall find [pg 227] so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that He will make him ruler over all that He hath.”—Luke 12:44; Psa. 49:5-9; Isa. 21:1-10.

14:18. And another angel.—The corporate body which Pastor Russell organized to finish his work. See Rev. 8:3-5, which describes the same matter as here narrated.

Came out from the altar.—The place of sacrifice. The Society is maintained by the sacrifices of the saints.

Which had power over fire.—Authority over the publication and distribution of expositions of Ezekiel and John the Revelator, symbolical “coals of fire.”—Isa. 6:6; Ezek. 10:2.

And cried with a loud [cry] VOICE to Him that had the sharp sickle.—What a disappointed cry went up from the whole Church that dear Brother Russell went beyond the veil without writing the Seventh Volume of Scripture Studies, for which we all have looked so long!