Grapes
Some people like seedless grapes and some like the seed-filled varieties, and some just want to crush the grapes into grape juice or wine. Whatever the case, grapes are delightful for the number of colors and flavors that they offer—and aesthetically, vineyards and grapevines and grape clumps and grapes themselves all reflect the variety and richness of their Creator. What could beautify the rolling hills of California’s Sonoma and Napa Counties, or the south of France, more than vineyards of grapes extending almost as far as the eye can see? The grape-growing method is methodical and organized, purposeful and eye-catching. Unlike sunflowers or corn in the Midwest, the grape rows seem to march over hill and dale with all the rigor of world-class choreographers or a precision dance troupe, leaving just enough open ground to convey a sense of etiquette and to let the grape harvesters in.
Grapes as a Reward for Service to a King, and as a Harbinger of a Much Greater Reward for Believers at the Coming of the King of Kings
The intrigue of the grape did not escape the wise King Solomon: “The fig tree putteth forth her green figs,” wrote Solomon, “and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell.” (Song. 2:13a, KJV) Moreover, we read in Song of Solomon 8:11-12, 14, that “Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon; he let out the vineyard unto keepers; every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces of silver. My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred. . . . Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices.” (KJV) This passage, being the pledge of a lover’s love for King Solomon, would seem to be a picture of the love of God’s people for King Jesus as well. Notice Solomon’s keen, sensual appreciation of his God-given environment as he uses a simile to describe the great king, object of adoration and praise, as being like unto a roe or a hart upon the mountains of spices. Solomon’s simile is at once visual and olfactory, with the king being like a roebuck (an agile, male Eurasian deer) or a hart (a male European red deer), in the midst of mountains that send the fragrant smell of spices a’wafting. The call is for the king to come to the lover, and seems to anticipate the tenor of Revelation 22, where we read a similar tone:
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. He which testifieth these things saith, “Surely I come quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. (Rev. 22:17-21, KJV)
We see a description of the Lord Jesus’s soon return in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the arch-angel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are aliive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (KJV) These verses resonate with John 14:1-3, where we read that “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” (KJV) It seems King Jesus will come to fetch His bride in the air and take her back to His Father’s house.
The love affair in Revelation is ultimately solemn, and Solomon clearly was inspired of the Holy Spirit when he alluded to the King coming with grace, power, and agility in the manner of a Eurasian roebuck or a European red stag bounding powerfully through fragrant mountains to fetch His lover (God’s people).
While Solomon enjoyed the smell of the grapes in his vineyards, he would also take a thousand pieces of silver from each vineyard keeper on account of the fruit that had been afforded to the keeper. Similarly, in Revelation 22:12, we read “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” (KJV) While the king’s vineyard keepers were rewarded with fruit as they offered up a tribute of one thousand pieces of silver to the king, similarly King Jesus’s saved believers will be rewarded at His coming according to the good works they offered up to the Lord during their lives.
Grapes as an Object Lesson on How To Care for the Poor
lt’s very popular nowadays to be cynical about the man on the street holding a sign asking for food. The cynical view says that he is just in it for the easy accumulation of money and food, and that he could work if he would just fly straight and buck up. The problem with that view is that some who beg for food really are down and out and need a helping hand. Moreover, some who are down and out are shut-ins or disabled and have to be sought out actively by caring folks. In Leviticus 19:10, we see God’s instruction on the matter: “Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the LORD your God.” (NASB) Certainly, caring for the poor is important to the LORD our God, and food producers are expected to do their part in making a portion available to the needy and the stranger.
Gleaning organizations sometimes have a presence at farmers markets, and they do a good thing by ensuring that extra food in the fields will go to the poor and needy. I have a Jewish friend who has oft’ underscored the importance of giving to the needy, and yet he sighed when telling about just how often he is made fun of for handing out his hard-earned money. I talked to him about the importance of accepting Jesus as one’s Lord and Savior—and praise God—he listened with interest.
Grapes as a Sign of Genetic Tinkering?
In Numbers 13, we see that the LORD purposed to give the land of Canaan to the children of Israel. For that reason, Moses (by commandment of the LORD) sent Israelite rulers to spy out Canaan:
And they ascended by the south, and came unto Hebron; where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs. The place was called the brook Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from thence. And they returned from searching of the land after forty days. (Num. 13:22-25, KJV)
What were these huge grapes all about? To require hoisting on the shoulders of two men—but not only that, on a staff between the shoulders of two men—the huge cluster of grapes (a single cluster!) must have weighed a great deal. Undoubtedly they had other things to carry, and the huge grapes must be seen as a last-minute addition, therefore if their backs were already carrying other things, the weight-bearing staff over the shoulder would have been a good solution.
Another clue to the size of the grapes is found in the description of those that the Israelites found in Canaan: “And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.” (Num. 13:33, KJV) It would appear that there was a connection between the hugeness of the giants in Canaan and the hugeness of the grapes that were used to feed said giants. This begs the question: Were these grapes mere flukes, or were they the result of high-tech genetic modification efforts aimed at growing huge food stuffs for the giants’ appetites? It should be said that the fallen angels and the evil giants that followed them had boundary issues: The fallen angels left their first estate and have been “reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day” (Jude 6); the giants, that were the offspring of the fallen angels (sons of God) and the daughters of men (regular women), had evil thoughts continually (Genesis 6:4-5). Such evil brutes (the giants) would have had tremendous appetites, and obviously would have gone to lengths to get what they wanted to eat (they might well have been induced to genetically-engineer huge grapes to satisfy their huge selves.) If that was the case, what else might have been genetically tampered with during the time of the giants? The giants themselves would have been the result of angel-human coupling, so they themselves were the embodiment of genetic tampering, therefore it’s not a stretch at all to think that they might have had a genetic modification program going on, perhaps yielding funny fruits and oddball hybrid animals.
Grapes a Sign of Peace and Prosperity (’No Grapes’ a Sign of Trouble)
In Jeremiah 8, we see that the stork, the turtle dove, the crane, and the swallow all know their seasons, but by contrast God’s own people were not ashamed when they committed abomination, and God purposed to consume them: “I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have give them shall pass away from them. . . . Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall inherit them: for every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.” (Jer. 8:13, 10, KJV) The wayward people would be consumed just as the grapes would be stripped from the vine.
Crushed Grapes Symbolic of the Destruction of Wayward Souls in Endtime Battles
Revelation 14:18-20 speaks about grapes being gathered up and crushed in the winepress of God’s fury:
And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs. (KJV)
Clearly, the grape-crushing and the winepress here are metaphors for a judgment against wayward man, for blood will come out of this winepress! Blood will flow as a result of the wrath of God in this instance, and the blood will cover a distance of some 1,600 furlongs, or 200 miles, which happens to be the length of a valley in Israel that has been a major battlefield over the ages. It is said that the length of 1,600 furlongs is reflective of the total destruction that will take place at the battle of Armageddon: that is to say, 4 x 4 x 100 is the number of total destruction.
It is important to note that in this same context are some very compelling verses for the creationist: “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” (Rev. 14:6-7, KJV) So here we have a truth from a gospel-preaching angel: We are to fear God and give glory to God. Why? Because His judgment is coming. We are to worship God, because He made heaven and earth, the sea and the fountains of waters. What an important gospel-related teaching this is—fear Him that made all of creation because He is coming back as a Judge. It would seem that the close juxtaposition of the Battle of Armageddon and the exhortation to fear the God of creation (and this from a gospel-preaching angel) is making the point that the same God who made the beautiful mountains can also send a mountain down on top of a person’s head (see Ezekiel 38-39). People make a big deal out of seeing the forest for the trees, in other words, not getting so caught up in the details of what lies in front of you that you miss the larger forest. But we would also do well to talk about seeing God’s invisible qualities—that is, His eternal power and divine nature—through the things that He has created. See the forest, yes, but be sure also to see the power of God manifested through His forest!