REVELATION 14

14:14-20 THE GREAT HARVEST

“And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him that sat on the cloud, ‘Thrust in Your sickle and reap; for the time has come for You to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.’ And He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped” (Revelation 14:14-16).

Chapters 12-14 digress from the linear timeline of the Revelation narrative in order to portray the history and the outcome of the great controversy. Satan has claimed that God is a selfish liar and that His law is restrictive, preventing us from reaching our full potential (see 12: Origin of Satan). God answers these charges by displaying the 144,000 who “keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” They give the three angels' messages, which call the great multitude to come out of Babylon. The witness is so powerful and universal that the whole world is brought to a decision. The final results are the two harvests. God’s children are compared to wheat that is gathered in the harvest. Believers are often compared with wheat, and it is a fitting symbol of the church, whose ministry “feeds” the world with spiritual nourishment.[1]

The ungodly, on the other hand, are compared to grapes, which are gathered and trampled into bloody wine. “And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, ‘Thrust in your sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe” (Revelation 14:17,18). The fate of the unrepentant is portrayed here as a part of the demonstration of the final outcome of the great controversy, but chronologically, the harvest of the grapes takes place both at the Second Coming of Christ when the unrepentant will be slain,[2] and at the end of the thousand years when the still-rebellious “nations” are judged and cast into the lake of fire.

Grapes and wine have mixed symbolism in the Bible. On the one hand, the closest relationship that God’s children can have with Jesus is compared to grape branches that are connected to the vine (“I am the vine and you are the branches” John 15:1-8). Jesus designated the “fruit of the vine” to be the symbol of His blood in the communion service (Matthew 26:27-29, 1 Corinthians 11:25,26). On the other hand, in Revelation 17:2 the great harlot has a cup with which she makes the nations “drunk with the wine of her fornication.” Those who took the Nazirite vow of consecration to God were “not [to] eat anything that comes from the vine, nor …drink wine or similar drink” (Judges 13:14).

Perhaps wine is one of the most fitting symbols of the sinful humanity. New, fresh wine (grape juice) is delightfully sweet, and the fact that billions of dollars are spent on sweetened drinks today shows how enjoyable it must have been when it was one of the only sweet drinks available. This is expressed in scriptures such as Psalm 104:14,15, “[God] makes… plants for man to cultivate—bringing forth food from the earth: wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread that sustains his heart.”[3]

But, as anyone who has made grape juice knows, it almost immediately begins to spoil, producing first alcohol and finally vinegar. There are many negative statements about wine, such as Proverbs 20:1 (“Wine is a mocker…and whoever is led astray by it is not wise”) and Proverbs 23:29-32 (“Who has woe,…sorrow…contentions…complaints,… wounds without cause? Those who linger long at the wine…Do not look on the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it swirls around smoothly; at the last it bites like a serpent”). These verses refer to the evil influence that results when delightful “new wine” becomes intoxicating “old wine”.[4] Likewise, every baby is born delightfully innocent with a clean slate,[5] but almost immediately, contact with sin begins to spoil the childish innocence so that unless he is born again he inevitably becomes hopelessly corrupt, unfit for eternal life.

“And the angel thrust 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 wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out of the wine press, up to the horses bridles, for 1,600 stadia” (Revelation 14:19,20).

The comparison of treading out grapes with the destruction of the wicked is a common theme in Old Testament texts such as Isaiah 63:1-6 (“I [the Lord] have trodden the winepress alone…I have trodden down the peoples in My anger”) and Joel 3:12,13 (“I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations...the winepress is full, the vats overflow—for their wickedness is great”). These are not simply threats by the stern God of the Old Testament; the loving Jesus pictures Himself as treading the winepress at His Second Coming: “And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse; and He that sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war...and His name is called the Word of God…and He himself shall rule them [the nations] with a rod of iron. And He treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God” (Revelation 19:11,13,15).

The imagery of trampling grapes, and words such as “fierceness” and “wrath” have caused many to wonder what the phrase “God is love” really means. The next chapter will show how the wrath of God and His destruction of the unrepentant are acts of love. Chapter 15 will also return to the Revelation timeline with the close of probation and the pouring out of the seven last plagues.