Friday, October 09, 2020

The "harvest is plenteous": A Promise People Will Always be Saved in Matthew 9:35-38?

 "The harvest truly is plenteous," Matthew 9:37.  Is this a promise that there will always be people who will be converted when the gospel is preached? Such a view is common among advocates of Keswick theology.  For example, John VanGelderen on the Revival Focus blog wrote:

Jesus said, “The harvest truly is plenteous.” The harvest is plentiful. Not will be, but is—right now. Since this is so, Jesus continued, “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” The sending is not just into His fields, but into His harvest! If words have meaning and if language has integrity, then within the sphere of your life and mine, there are people ready to be harvested right now. The Lord of the harvest—the Holy Spirit—has already done His preparatory work to help people become aware of their need. Now they just need the answer—Jesus. They just need to hear the message of the Gospel in power. ... The harvest truly is plentiful. This is more than a promised environment that someday “will be.” This is a present fact. It “is.” Amazing! When you embrace the fact of a ready harvest, it changes everything. ... One of my favorite stories of living according to the ready harvest comes from the life of a good friend of mine ... [a] missionary[.] ... When he began deputation he attended a Netcasters seminar, a course on the Spirit-filled life applied to evangelizing. God brought two truths home to [this person's]  heart: the power of the Holy Spirit though faith and the fact of a ready harvest—a particularly explosive combination. Quickly, he went from ineffective duty-witnessing to effective delight-witnessing.

This particular person who caught the Keswick doctrine now sees huge numbers of people pray the "sinner's prayer" all over the mission field.  While only a small percentage of them manifest a changed life comparable to the people in Acts 2:41-47--as is overwhelmingly the case when the Netcasters techniques are used instead of more careful methods of evangelism that plainly explain repentance--the fact that such large numbers of people can be led to repeat the sinner's prayer is proof that Matthew 9:35-38 is a guarantee that people will always be saved.  Other testimonials from various places similarly validate the Keswick explanation of the "harvest" being "plenteous."  Don't worry about the fact that this view of Matthew 10 would mean that the Lord Jesus Himself and His Apostles lacked the Keswick power since Christ was crucified with the consent of the large majority, while only a small number were truly converted.

Clearly, then, as is regularly preached in Keswick circles taking this view of the passage, if you are not "regularly" seeing people pray the sinner's prayer there is something wrong with you. You can't be right with God if there are not enough people making professions. Even if you search your conscience, ask God to show you your secret faults, and as far as you can tell, you have an upright heart before Him, you must really not be pleasing God because there are not enough people making professions. You clearly don't have enough faith, or you have not received the special Keswick power that you have read about others receiving in easy-to-read and interesting but too often historically inaccurate books on those who got the secret and obtained the special power.  There must be something wrong with you, because the phrase "the harvest truly is plenteous" guarantees lots of professions.

Or does it?

The "white harvest" in context

Matthew 10 is what Christ does and teaches based on Matthew 9:35-38. Christ teaches His disciples Matthew 10, and then He sends them forth to preach in Matthew 11:1.  Matthew 10:1-11:1 records the following (please read the chapter carefully):

10:1   And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. 2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. 5   These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. 9 Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, 10 Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat. 11 And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence. 12 And when ye come into an house, salute it. 13 And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. 15 Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city. 16   Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. 17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; 18 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. 19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. 20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. 21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. 22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. 23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come. 24 The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. 25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? 26 Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. 27 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. 28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. 32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. 33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. 34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. 35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. 36 And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. 37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. 39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. 40 He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. 41 He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. 42 And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.


11:1   And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.

So what does the Lord Jesus Himself indicate in Matthew 10 about Matthew 9:35-38's teaching concerning a white harvest?  He sends people out to preach--so we should go out and preach (10:1ff.). He teaches that God takes care of His people (10:8-10), so we should trust in His care.  He tells the Apostles to find a single place to stay for as long as one is in a location instead of floating from house to house (10:11), a good pattern. He commands the Apostles to greet people when they approach a house, and share the peaceful truth with them if they are open, but to shake off the dust from their feet as a sign of horrible coming judgment if they do not listen (10:12-14). Not only individual houses, but whole cities will be full of people who do not listen (10:14), and their judgment will be worse than that of Sodom (10:15).  He teaches His people to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves because they will receive severe persecution (10:16ff.).  In fact, all men will hate them and even family members will deliver them up to death; however, if they persevere in faithfulness to Christ they will be saved (10:21-22).  When persecution arises in one city, flee and go to another one because the work will not be done before the return of Christ (10:22-23). Since Christ Himself is slandered and persecuted, they should expect slander and persecution (10:24-25), but they should not be afraid because in the coming day of judgment all will be made right (10:26), so boldly preach the truth, and do not be afraid, for the Father cares for them (10:27-31). Fearlessly confess Christ before men and He will confess them instead of denying them (10:32-33). The gospel will divide families, but do not forget that at conversion they took up the cross and must continue to follow Christ despite opposition (10:34-39). If people receive them or help them, God will reward those people (10:40-41). Now go out and preach (11:1)!

Notice Christ never states, hints, or implies in Matthew 10 that the fact that He had spoken of a "white harvest" in chapter 9:35-38 means that there will always be people who will be converted.  On the contrary, Christ's explanation includes the warning that in entire cities everyone will reject them and they will need to flee.  He does not tell them, or breathe the slightest hint, that if every single person in a city does not listen it was their fault for not entering into the Higher Life or for not having the special power that makes people listen, or that it was their fault for not believing His (alleged) promise of a "white harvest" that means many people will always believe.  Rather than explaining the Higher Life secret, Christ just tells the Apostles to run away and go to the next city; it was the fault of the people who did not listen, not their fault, that they did receive the gospel. The Lord Jesus tells them over and over again, not "lots of people will always listen," but "persecution, persecution, persecution, persecution."  He tells them to keep going because the Father cares for them and because He will reward them in the last day, but never tells them to keep going because there are always people who are going to listen.

In the parallel passage in Luke 10 Christ also speaks of a "great ... harvest," and then immediately afterwards speaks of entire cities where nobody will listen.  Nobody who read the entire passage honestly would conclude that lots of people will always be saved based on the "white/great harvest" language of Matthew 10 and Luke 10.

So should we tell people what Christ told them is involved in going into a "white harvest," or should we tell them what Keswick theology teaches about the "white harvest," even if that means ignoring the immediate context of the passage?

What about the Old Testament harvest imagery that Christ was alluding to when He spoke of a great or white harvest?  The strong emphasis of the Old Testament harvest imagery in passages such as Micah 4:11-13 is coming judgment.  "The harvest is white/great" means "the harvest is ready to be reaped--judgment is coming!" according to the Old Testament, and according to Matthew's gospel just a few chapters later:  "the harvest is the end of the world" (Matthew 13:39). The judgment of the last days involves both the destruction of the wicked and the deliverance of the righteous, but the nearness of judgment justifying urgency in preaching is the point in Matthew 9:35-38, not that a large number will always respond to the gospel positively.  To ignore the Old Testament imagery of the harvest, and the use of the image elsewhere in Matthew, is to rip the harvest metaphor from its broader context, just as to ignore the verses immediately surrounding the passage rip the metaphor from its immediate context.

The book context of Matthew is also ignored in order to make the "white harvest" language into a promise that people will always listen to the gospel in large numbers:

9:35 and 4:23 mark an inclusion which underlines the importance of reading chaps. 5–7 and 8–9 together and, when linked with the emphasis on the mission of the disciples in what precedes 4:23 (vv. 18–22) and what follows 9:35 (9:36–11:1), provide a chiasmic structure which enhances the significance of the mission perspective for the whole body of the encompassed materials. 9:35–37 function as an introductory piece for the section that runs to 10:42 (11:1), which consists mainly of the second major discourse by Jesus in Matthew, in a set of five marked by a shared concluding formula (here in 11:1[)] ... Mt. 9:35 closely echoes 4:23 ... this time Jesus is explicitly named; ‘all the towns and the villages’ replaces ‘in the whole of Galilee’ (probably with the intention of being more general) ... Jesus’ ministry is freshly summarised/characterised after the expansiveness that has marked chaps. 5–9.


 John Nolland, The Gospel of Matthew: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press, 2005), 406–407.

In chapter 4:23ff. Christ never says that many people will always repent and believe.  He did have large crowds that wanted to be healed, but He never said that the number who were spiritually saved would always be large--on the contrary, He said: "strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" (Matthew 7:14).

So what?

So why does this all matter?  First, it matters because taking out of context Christ's language about a "white harvest" and telling others that many people will always believe the gospel is telling them a lie.  It is telling them what God did not say and claiming His authority for it.  Even if done in sincerity, whenever God's Word is distorted a great evil is perpetrated. Don't lie to people. Tell them God's truth.

Second, it is important because whether someone expects what Keswick theology tells him to expect, or what Christ told him to expect, has a huge impact on how he does ministry.  If an evangelist or church-planter believes the Keswick wresting of Scripture instead of Christ's actual promises he will become very discouraged if he finds out that what Christ said is actually true instead of what he wrongly thought Christ promised in Keswick theology.  He will conclude that something must be wrong with him and he is not pleasing God if there are not lots of people who are born again.  Instead of confiding in the Father's care in the face of virulent opposition, like Christ commanded in Matthew 10, he will pour over his Higher Life literature and try to find out how he is missing the secret power that will finally make many people listen all the time. He may quit the ministry altogether, concluding that he is a failure when he sees the persecution Christ promised instead of the big crowds Christ never promised.  He will probably water down the gospel message and start practicing man-made promotion and marketing techniques in order to get the crowds and numbers of professions he wrongly thinks are promised in Matthew 9:35-38.  He will not evaluate other churches based on whether they are trusting in the Father and boldly preaching the way Christ commanded in Matthew 10, but on whether they are seeing the numbers of professions promised by the Higher Life.  A church that is obeying Matthew 10 but seeing fewer professions will be rejected as a model for ministry or for fellowship in favor of one that is using marketing techniques and seeing more professions, or has "secrets to success" which cannot be discovered by careful exegesis of Scripture.  In short, he will displease God.  Whenever Scripture is twisted lots of problems come about.

So you need to believe what Christ taught about the white harvest--it means judgment is coming.  It means you need to boldly preach what He said from the housetops even when persecution comes--and it will come.  When it comes, trust in the Father's care, and remember that if you confess Christ before men He will confess you before your heavenly Father.  If you are not trusting in the Lord and are not consequently boldly preaching, and as a result you experience no persecution, there is something wrong with you. If lots of people are not listening, that does not prove that something is wrong with you.

Now certainly it is possible that if you are evangelizing to see a church established but people are not listening to you it may be that you are a bad example--if you are soon angry, or are not ruling your family well, or are a drunkard, or are not apt to teach, etc. (1 Timothy 3) then it is true that you are the problem.  But if you have an upright heart before God and are qualified, if you can say "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalm 139:23-24), then don't worry about missing out on a secret Higher Life power that supposedly guarantees lots of visible results.  Keep boldly preaching, expect opposition, and trust in the Father's care. Do not change your practices one iota from what you can prove from Scripture based on anything invented by mere men.  Do not model your ministry after people who claim to have special powers but who distort Scripture to teach Keswick and are really just good at man-made marketing.  Fellowship with churches that derive their beliefs and practices from the Bible alone, and get the sweet encouragement that is truly offered in the Word instead of the false expectations and hopes offered by distorted theological errors.

It could please God in His grace to allow much of the seed of the Word to land on good soil, and you could have a big church like the one in Jerusalem shortly after Christ's ascension (Acts 2, 5). Alternatively, you could have a small church like the one in Philadelphia that highly pleased Christ (Revelation 3:7ff.) with not the slightest hint that they were doing something wrong because they were small. Reject the Keswick distortion of the "white harvest" and instead keep boldly preaching and obeying all Scripture in faith and love, in light of the fact that the harvest--judgment--is coming:  "Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown" (Revelation 3:11).

-TDR

11 comments:

akwatchman said...

Thank you for this, it is very encouraging. Realizing just how valuable each soul is to the Lord, and how valuable each soul should be to us is one of the things that keeps me going, even when there is very little visible fruit for our efforts and great opposition. There is a reason why "there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth."

It really is a big deal, not very many repent, not very many believe. And that makes our task so exceedingly serious and weighty. We had better make absolutely sure that our gospel is pure and our methods are scriptural!

In Christ,

Jed



KJB1611 said...

Thanks Jed, I'm glad it was a blessing. That is what Christ intended when He gave us Matthew 10 in His love, to encourage us.

I think the teaching referred to in this post is quite common. Are there people reading this who have heard this preached? How did it influence you?

Anonymous said...

Can you prove the following statement? Have you been with this missionary? How do you know the converts are not by and large following Acts 2 model? Are you assuming?

“now sees huge numbers of people pray the "sinner's prayer" all over the mission field. While only a small percentage of them manifest a changed life comparable to the people in Acts 2:41-47”

Kevin,

Anonymous said...

If you read Matthew Henry’s Commentary on Matt 9:35ff he explains it the way I have always heard it preached. The White Harvest means there are souls that need to be saved. The Laborers are few and the need great. This is how I have always heard it preached. The word harvest does have two Greek definitions. One meaning judgement and one meaning reaping. It is very clear that the Matthew 9 passage is the definition of reaping not of judgement. Look at the passage plainly. Why would Christ call laborers into his harvest if that was referring to great judgement? So he is calling them to reap because the fields are white already to reap. You have created a straw man out of Keswick. They do not teach that every time the gospel is preached someone will get saved. They teach that sometimes people get saved and other times they riot and persecute you. Why does Keswick highlight missionaries like Judson who didn’t see a soul saved for years?

I have been heavily influenced by the white harvest preaching and I thank God for it. It motivates me to keep laboring and reaping. Up till the moment Jesus comes there is work to do and a white harvest. It is misrepresentation to make conclusive statements as if Keswick teaches someone will get saved every time! Can you provide any commentaries that present your view that the white harvest is referring to judgement and not reaping?

I dare say, you will find very few people that read here who will agree with the general thrust of this article. What you are trying to do is attach to people who you think teach Keswick and make them to be not good because they teach this and it leads to false professions. Maybe there could be better practices by some but the simple point of a white harvest should not be changed as a reaction to people you disagree with on other points.

Ryan,

KJB1611 said...

Hi Kevin,

I don't want to get into my basis for that, and I don't want to make this post personal. I don't believe it would be wise to conclude that this isn't happening because I don't want to do that, but if you want to draw that conclusion, that is fine with me; I am not two or three witnesses. Please consider the actual argument of the post--what the white harvest is in context--rather than making it about one sincere person who is misinterpreting this passage.

Thanks.

Andrew said...

One act that God looks favorably on and approves of can accomplish more than a lifetime of hard work that is dedicated for the wrong purpose and in the wrong spirit. Furthermore, we cannot always see the results of whatever activities we have dedicated to the Lord, we have to trust in large part that his word is being heard, in this life we don't see all the results.

In agreeing with your article, I think there are two errors to avoid here. First is the error of thinking that the purpose of our work is to see reportable results, something that we can tabulate and compare one to another. The other is of thinking that degree of success is tied to degree of hard work, and not degree of how pleased God is to use someone's actions for his purposes. That's not to say that God doesn't like persistent, consistent hard workers, but it is to say that putting in effort is not somehow enough by itself, and that results are not related to that at all but to how pleased God is to use that. And a lot of times we can't see the results unless perhaps the Lord wants to encourage us. But both of these errors are basically carnal thinking.

This is why I like the verse Philippians 2:12, "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."

Now of course this isn't saying work for your own salvation in the sense of earning it. But what it is saying is to work because of it. Not because of outward results based thinking or purely to do hard work. Those are carnal thinking. But the reason to work is actually because of being saved, and that never changes, so our reason to work never changes. So we must think how can God be pleased to use our actions. And make sure to pray for them. I hope that makes sense.

As far as not having many people at all being receptive - we are called to be witnesses. Even in Matthew 10 it is said that they shall be brought before governors and kings for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. That's not a testimony for them but against them. So part of God's purpose in all this is to use this witness to reprove others that will not end up listening to it. Who is to say, this is less of a purpose to fulfill the role of? I would be just as glad to serve that purpose even if that's not what I'm trying to do, and it's something that someone has to do. It's not you that decides which of those two it becomes. Things happen in ways to avoid allowing the flesh to boast. So then I would never intentionally boast. That's just asking for things to be put to shame rather to glory.

KJB1611 said...

In other words, Kevin, if Keswick leader John Van Gelderen did not identify who he was speaking about, I am not going to do it either, because this post is about what God's intention is in Matthew 9:35-11:1, not about trying to figure out who an unnamed party is.

KJB1611 said...

Hi Ryan, thanks for commenting. Here is a response for you.

1.) I actually got the idea for writing this post because I am studying through Matthew in Greek with three commentaries; a.) Glasscock on Matthew (dispensational); b.) New International Greek Testament commentary on Matthew (useful exegetical and technical points, but dry as dust and influenced by liberalism); c.) Matthew Henry's commentary on Matthew (useful exegetical points and good application). So I have read Matthew Henry on Matthew 9 and, for that matter, on Matthew 1-10. I agree with the great majority of what he says in his commentary, including on Matthew 9:35ff.


2.) I think you may not understand my point when I point out that the background to the harvest image in the Old Testament is judgment. You said that "the white harvest means there are souls that need to be saved." There certainly are--because if they do not, they will be on the wrong side in the future time of reaping at the judgment, for "the harvest is the end of the world" (Matthew 13:39). Yes, the laborers are few and the need is great. No disagreement here. The Keswick view this post is about is not that people need to be saved, but that there always will be results if one pleads the alleged promise of results in Matthew 9:35-38. According to Keswick, if one is not "regularly" seeing people say the sinner's prayer--which, say, in a college chapel at Baptist College of Ministry means people praying the prayer at least every few months, while at Hyles-Anderson, at least when Hyles was in charge (I don't know if they still do this), it meant you had to go to the principle's office and could get demerits if at least one person did not pray the sinner's prayer every week. (and, as pointed out in the comments to this post: https://kentbrandenburg.blogspot.com/2020/02/hyles-anderson-college-first-baptist-of.html Baptist College of Ministry and Hyles-Anderson are in fellowship.)

3.) The Greek word "harvest" actually means "harvest." Could you please cite your source that the word MEANS "judgment" and it MEANS "reaping," and by "reaping" you mean the point when a soulwinner personally speaks to a lost person and that person is born again? I am not asking for whether you can make a case that the word is used metaphorically in a certain way; you said the word "harvest" "means" those two things.

KJB1611 said...

4.) You asked: "Why would Christ call laborers into his harvest if that was referring to great judgement?"

Because they need to be born again so that they will not be damned in the judgment.

5.) You said: "You have created a straw man out of Keswick. They do not teach that every time the gospel is preached someone will get saved."

I never said that Keswick teaches EVERY TIME the gospel is preached someone will be saved. Could you please point out where I said that? But what is clear, from the John Van Gelderen quote I began the post with, which is not out of context at all, is that what Christ would say if everyone in an entire city did not listen and what Keswick teaches if everyone in an entire city does not listen are very different. Christ said if they don't listen go to the next city, and it is their fault for not listening. Christ never in Matthew 10 talks about passing from sincere but "ineffective duty-witnessing to effective delight-witnessing" or draws the other conclusions John Van Gelderen makes. Could you please point out where Christ in Matthew 10 draws the Keswick conclusions in the quote I provided? Where, for example, does Christ mention in Matthew 10 that because the harvest is white one needs to pass from "ineffective duty-witnessing to effective delight-witnessing"? Maybe you can start there and show me where Christ teaches this distinction in Matthew 10. Are you sure that I am the one making the straw man here?


6.) You asked "Why does Keswick highlight missionaries like Judson who didn’t see a soul saved for years?" Some Keswick people highlight people like Judson because he was a godly and great man--the same reason that charismatics, TULIP Calvinists (which Judson was), and unconverted liberal Baptists in Burma who believe in good works for salvation and that the Bible has errors highlight Judson, and the same reason that historic Baptists with Biblical doctrine recognize him—he was a godly servant of the Lord.

We can be thankful that Keswick theology did not exist yet when Bro Judson lived, and that he did not believe it, because if he had believed the Keswick misinterpretation of Matthew 9:35-38 he might have quit the ministry.

KJB1611 said...


7.) You asked: "Can you provide any commentaries that present your view that the white harvest is referring to judgement and not reaping?"

Your question is badly phrased, because the reaping is the judgment. However, Christ's words are themselves inspired commentary on texts such as:

Mic. 4:11 Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion.
Mic. 4:12 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.
Mic. 4:13 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.

Furthermore, Christ Himself said just a few chapters after Matthew 9 that "the harvest is the end of the world" (Matthew 13:39).

So there are two infallible commentaries.

As for fallible commentaries, consider:

In the Old Testament and Judaism the image of harvest is definitely associated with judgment. ... The gathering of Israel for the kingdom of God by means of the disciples’ proclamation is an eschatological event. Matthew was also familiar with this eschatological outlook (3:12*; 13:39*); for him also in the proclamation of the disciples a degree of judgment happens in advance (10:13–15*, cf. 34–36*).

Ulrich Luz, Matthew: A Commentary, ed. Helmut Koester, Hermeneia—a Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg, 2001), 65.

Even commentators who do not agree with the view I advocate in the post mention it as being widespread, e. g.:

The metaphor changed from sheep farming to harvest (v.37), as Jesus sought to awaken similar compassion in his disciples. Later on the harvest is the end of the age (13:49) and the judgment it brings—a common symbol (cf. Isa 17:11; Joel 3:13). Many commentators see this verse as a warning to Israel that judgment time is near. (Expositor's Bible Commentary)

Furthermore, those who do not take this view do not automatically take the Keswick view that the "white harvest" means a lot of people will "regularly" be saved if one has the special power. They could conclude that in this particular setting a lot of people are willing to listen, or conclude a lot of other things. Your comment seems to be strongly disagreeing with my post, yet I agree 100% that people need to be saved, which is what you said the "white harvest" means--that is a necessary consequence of the harvest being coming judgment.

Thanks again for the comment. I hope that helps you and others who read this who take Keswick positions but are, sadly, afraid to comment.

KJB1611 said...

Thanks, Andrew.