Revelation 14:14-20 | The Two Harvests

We finish Revelation 14 by walking through the two harvest scenes and the terrifying winepress image that follows. We weigh the main interpretation options and end with a clear line in the sand: no neutral ground, only faithfulness or compromise.

• finishing Revelation 14:14-20 and the “harvest of the earth”
• identifying the Son of Man on the white cloud and why many see Jesus
• explaining the sickle and what “ripe” signals in the text
• comparing two views: both harvests as judgment vs first harvest as salvation
• linking the harvest and winepress imagery to Joel 3, Matthew 9, Matthew 13, and Isaiah 63
• unpacking the blood flow image and the symbolism of sixteen hundred stadia
• tracing the meaning of forty times forty as intensified testing and judgment
• contrasting the river of blood with the river of life later in Revelation
• drawing the closing takeaway: compromise brings ruin and endurance leads to life

Put your trust and faith in Jesus Christ, because when the final sickle is plunged into the earth, only Jesus will reign supreme, and his redeemed will stand with him forever.

Transcript

Setting Up Revelation 14:14-20

The Son Of Man On The Cloud

Two Harvests And Competing Views

The Winepress Of God’s Wrath

Sixteen Hundred Stadia And Forty Times Forty

No Neutral Ground Choose Your King

SPEAKER_00 0:17

Well as always, thank you for joining me in this verse by verse Bible study. We're in Revelation chapter fourteen, and we're going to finish this chapter with verses fourteen through twenty. And we broke this chapter down into three different sections. This will be the last section of the chapter which describes the harvest of the earth, and so we'll start with the next three verses verses fourteen through sixteen which read Then I looked, and behold a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap is come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe. So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped. And so what we see here with these first three verses is the first of two harvests. John sees one like the Son of Man with a gold crown and a sharp sickle in his hand. Now who John sees here is disputed. Some believe it's an angel, others believe it's actually Jesus. But for those who believe it's an angel, their primary argument is that an angel wouldn't be given Jesus commands, as we'll see happens in verse eighteen. But others argue that the purpose of the angel giving commands is simply to emphasize the divine origin of the command. But on the other side, there seems to be a bit more in favor of the view that this is Jesus, and this is the majority view. Back in chapter one, which is the only other reference to the Son of Man in Revelation, it's clearly a reference to Jesus. And when we get to chapter nineteen and Jesus appears, his garments are splattered with the blood from treading out the wine press of human blood. And also the reference to the white cloud and the Son of Man sitting on the cloud, it reminds us of the Son of Man mentioned by the prophet Daniel where the Son of Man comes on the cloud of heaven. In Mark thirteen twenty six, speaking of the end times, Jesus said, and then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And this is clearly a reference to his second return at the end of the age, and remember, clouds denote God's presence, just as the pillar of cloud accompanied the Israelites in the wilderness and just as God appeared in a thick cloud on Mount Sinai. But either way, another angel comes and says, put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe. Now normally the Greek word used here Zarano, it refers to something that's become dried and withered, like when Jesus cursed the fig tree, but here it's actually just the opposite, referring to crops that are dry, and so they are ripe for harvest. And we read in verse sixteen that he who sat on the clouds swung his sickle across the earth and the earth was reaped. And so the Son of Man plunges in his sickle and harvests the earth. Now for the sake of some of our younger listeners out there, just to be sure you know what a sickle is, a sickle was a harvesting tool used back in the day, and it had a razor sharp curved blade and a wooden handle, and it was mainly used to cut grain. Now even before we get to the final four verses, I want you to notice what's being described, and we're going to see that there are two separate harvests here, and we just read about the first one, but the last four verses will describe the second one. And the meaning of these two harvests are debatable. Some commentators believe that both of these harvests being described are judgments, while others believe that one harvest is describing salvation and the other describes judgment. So let's start with the first harvest. Some commentators understand this harvesting of the earth to represent the final judgment and condemnation of the wicked, and as evidence they point to the remaining four verses immediately after this one, where we read about the great wine press of the wrath of God. But another reason for believing this refers to the final judgment is the allusion to Joel three hundred thirteen where God says to Joel, put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Go in, tread, for the wine press is full. The vats overflow for their evil is great. And God is saying this to Joel in reference to judging the nations because of their evil. In both of these, the instrument for harvest is the sickle, and so it also suggests the same kind of harvest. But before we continue discussing these two harvests, let's go ahead and let's read the last four verses which describe the second harvest, and so we read in verses seventeen through twenty, then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle, and another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, put in your sickle, and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe. So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God, and the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the wine press as high as a horse's bridle for sixteen hundred stadia. And so in this second harvest it seems fairly clear that this is referencing judgment, since we read about the great winepress of the wrath of God and being trodden and blood flowing. Now both harvests here allude to the use of a sickle, and so both hearken back to Joel's we just read above. But some commentators argue that these two harvests are different, and that the first harvest actually represents salvation. So the first harvest is a harvest of salvation, the second harvest is judgment, and they argue that for a couple of reasons. So regarding the first harvest, it is carried out by the Son of Man, or Jesus rather than an angel, and since Jesus is different from an angel, it means that we have two different meanings and two different consequences. Also, they argue that there's no clear reference to judgment or wrath in this first harvest. That is reserved specifically for the second harvest, and they argue that's important because the image of harvesting doesn't always refer to judgment and can actually refer to the gathering of those who were saved. And so for example, in Matthew nine hundred thirty five we read And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, and pay attention here, the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into this harvest. And in Matthew thirteen, Jesus ends one of his parables by telling his disciples, let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn, which tells us that at the final harvest the wicked will be burned, but the righteous will be saved. And so it seems like once again what we have here is a picture of two different futures, one of judgment and condemnation, the other to be gathered and saved. But with that quick overview, a few words about the last four verses. We saw an angel with a sickle come out of the temple in verse fifteen. Now another angel comes out from the temple, also carrying a sickle. But behind this angel a third angel also emerges from the temple. This angel has authority over the fire which points back to the altar. But what may be in mind here is the altar from chapter five where the angel takes the fire from the altar and he hurls it to the earth as part of those judgments that were poured out on humanity. But this angel calls out to the angel with the sickle and instructs the angel to begin the reaping, the harvesting of the earth. And like I mentioned above, we have a reference back in Joel supporting that this reaping is one of judgment, but it is quite a striking image to put in your sickle and to harvest and to trample, and that's what this angel does, just as instructed, swings his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. We also see this similar type judgment back in Isaiah sixty three where God says, Why are your clothes red and your garments like one who treads in the wine press? I trampled the winepress alone, I trampled them in my anger and ground them underfoot in my wrath. Their blood spattered on my garments and all my clothes were stained, for the day of vengeance was in my heart, and my year of redemption had come. I trampled down the people in my anger and made them drunk in my wrath, and I poured out their life blood on the earth. And so again, this allusion to the wine press in God's wrath is pretty clear, and we'll see this same theme when we get to chapter nineteen where Jesus rides on a white horse, wielding a sword to judge and destroy, and his clothes are stained in red as well. And we're told in verse twenty that the blood flowed from the wine press as high as a horse's bridle for sixteen hundred stadia. Now some of your translations like King James Version, it might say sixteen hundred furlongs instead of stadia. It's no big deal because they're essentially the same length. But the stadion was an ancient Greek unit of measure, and it was originally the length of a standard track used for races in the ancient games, like the Olympics, but it was somewhere around five hundred to seven hundred feet. And we're told here that the blood outside of the city flowed for sixteen hundred stadia, which would be almost two hundred miles. Now most commentators don't believe this is meant to be interpreted literally, but it's symbolic. The number sixteen hundred equals forty times forty, and we know that forty is symbolic of a time of testing. So for example, during the flood, it rained for how many days? Forty days and forty nights. The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years. Moses was on Mount Sinai for forty days receiving the Ten Commandments. Jesus was in the wilderness for forty days. And so you see all these times forty is used for a time of testing or preparation or judgment. But here you actually have forty times forty, which is exponentially greater, and so it's used to emphasize just how devastating and widespread this judgment will be for unbelievers. None will survive. And in an ironic twist, think about this. When we get to chapter twenty two, we'll read about the river of paradise which flows from God's throne. And that's quite the contrast to the river flowing with blood of unbelievers that's described here. And so we end chapter fourteen with the lines having been drawn. The wicked will be destroyed, and those who are with God will enjoy eternity with him. We've seen that the mark of the beast leads to wrath. Compromise leads to ruin, but faithfulness to Jesus Christ leads to Mount Zion, eternal rest and the river of life flowing from God's throne. And so the harvest are coming. There is no neutral ground. There's no fence to ride. The beast and Babylon promise temporary ease, but deliver eternal torment. Jesus promises suffering now, but delivers everlasting life. So stand firm, endure. Put your trust and faith in Jesus Christ, because when the final sickle is plunged into the earth, only Jesus will reign supreme, and his redeemed will stand with him forever. And so as Joshua said, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your father served or the gods of the Amorites. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.