Chapter Thirty/"Babylon the Great Has Fallen!" -Treading the Vine of the Earth - Continue

 But what is "the vine of the earth"? In the Hebrew Scriptures the Jewish nation was spoken of as Jehovah's vine. (Isaiah 5:7; Jeremiah 2:21) Similarly, Jesus Christ and those who will serve him in God's Kingdom are spoken of as a vine. (John 15:1-8) In this setting, the significant characteristic of a vine is that it produces fruit, and the true Christian vine has produced abundant fruit to Jehovah's praise. (Matthew 21:43) "The vine of the earth," therefore, must be, not this genuine vine, but Satan's imitation of it, his corrupt visible system of government over mankind, with its various "clusters" of demonic fruitage produced over the centuries. Babylon the Great, in which apostate Christianity is so prominent, has exercised great influence over this poisonous vine. - Compare DEUTERONOMY 32:32-35. 

Judgment must be executed: "And the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and he hurled it into the great winepress of the anger of God. And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress as high up as the bridles of the horses, for distance of a thousand six hundred furlongs." (Revelation 14:19, 20) Jehovah's indignation against this vine has long since been announced. (Zephaniah 3:8) A prophecy in the book of Isaiah leaves no doubt that the whole nations will be destroyed when the winepress is trampled. (Isaiah 63:3-6) Joel too prophesied that huge "crowds," whole nations, would be trampled to destruction in the "winepress," In the low plain of the decision." (Joel 3:12-14) Truly, a stupendous harvest the like of which will never again occur! According to John's vision, not only are the grapes harvested but the whole symbolic vine is cut down and thrown into the winepress to be trampled. So the vine of the earth will be stamped out and will never be able to grow again.

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