The Harvest Is Past, The Summer Is Ended, And We Are Not Saved

I am not sure if there is a passage of Scripture that is more somber and terrifying to contemplate than Jeremiah 8:20. Its warning rings even louder today as we begin to enter a watershed moment in the history of our nation as we move toward a more socialist mindset, and even further toward a one world government. These events did not just happen or appear with the election of President Obama as some seem to want to believe. No, this geopolitical course has been in the works for decades as America, along with the rest of the world, has put their faith and trust in humanism instead of the Living God.

It is stunning to see the pages of prophecy as outlined in the prophetic books of the Bible come to pass before our eyes. As I listen to men of God preach the Word of God these days, it is clear that the Spirit of God is focusing on the Lord’s return. It seems as if every preacher of the Word has his message laden with the truths of end time prophecy to warn listeners that Christ is coming and that the age of grace is about to come to an abrupt end.

In Jeremiah 8:20 it is interesting to notice the time frame that is given in the relationship between “the harvest is past” and “summer.” According to Dr. Neal Chadwick, in Israel's agricultural economy, there were three main harvests. The barley harvest was first and it occurred in the spring around the time of Passover. About six weeks later the wheat harvest would commence at Pentecost, and in the fall, corresponding to the Feast of Tabernacles, was the fruit harvest.

When the people cried about the harvest being over and summer being gone, they were no doubt lamenting that the time for the grain harvests had past and they had not been able to reap the fields. This would mean that they would head into winter without any food supplies. Famine and death would follow.

Chadwick goes on to say that in the New Testament, the idea of “harvest” is connected with the ingathering of souls into the Kingdom of God. That's part of the significance of the harvest festival of Pentecost when 3,000 people were welcomed into the first church. When Jesus pointed out the need for evangelists, He said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few” (Luke 10:2). Jesus also referred to the harvest as representing the end of this age when the angels will gather all believers into the heavenly kingdom (Matthew 13:39).

We can surmise from these passages that there is coming a time when God's patience will be exhausted, and He will bring to an end the present age and the world as we know it. This will bring to a conclusion the harvest, and the summer of opportunity to be saved will be over. In that day, there will be many who will repeat the saying first spoken by Jeremiah's contemporaries, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.”

Pretty gloomy, I know. But there is hope. God has NOT returned yet. There is STILL time to be saved.

The way of salvation is outlined in Romans by the Apostle Paul:
“For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” (3:23). You see, man stands guilty before a holy and just God, and the cost of sin, according to divine justice is death, “For the wages of sin is death.” (6:23) But here is the good news, “God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us!” (5:8) All we need to do is, “Confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God hath raised him from the dead, and thou shall be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (10:9-10)

I hope and pray that if you do not know the Lord personally that today will be your day of salvation and that you will be spared from ever uttering the dreadful words recorded in Jeremiah.

“‘Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.’ Blessed are those who do His commandments that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.” - Revelation 22: 12-14