The final segment of this chapter declares redemption and judgment, depicted in two metaphors found often throughout the Testaments: (1) the harvest and (2) the wine press.

(*All Bible verses are from the NIV unless otherwise noted)

Chapter 14

14 I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.

15 Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.”

16 So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

17 Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle.

18 Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, “Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe.”

19 The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath.

20 They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.

Rev 14:14

I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man with a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand:

 Other prophets had similar visions:

Dan 7:13 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

Ezek 1:26 Above the vault over their heads was what looked like a throne of lapis lazuli, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. 28 Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell face-down, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

Isa 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.

Rev 10:1 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars.

As we’ve seen, the expression “son of man” refers to someone or something appearing in human form (notes on Rev 1:13). It’s unlikely that the prophets were seeing God the Father. Moses and John were told that no one has seen the Father’s face:

Exod 33:20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”

John 1:18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

John has also been told that God is spirit, suggesting that the Father doesn’t have the tangible form of a human being:

John 4:24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

However, there are numerous Old Testament references to what are called theophanies, or, an appearance of the Lord to human beings, typically for the purpose of revealing something about the character of God1. “Theophany” is the combination of two Greek compounds. Theos (God, god) and phainein (to appear).

Mike Leake writes: God also communicated his presence to people through theophanies in many ways. In the scriptures, God appears to humanity in thunderstorms, in clouds, in smoke, in pillars of fire, in chariots, as a man, as a warrior, as an angel, and among others in court scenes. As you can see, there are many different types of theophany. Many categorize theophanies into three categories: non-human form, appearance as a man, appearance as an angel. 2

Exod 33:11 The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend…

Exod 24:9 Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up 10 and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky. 11 But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.

Gen 32:30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

Theologians generally agree that a theophany is the “manifestation” of God in the Bible that is perceptible to the human senses, often, but not always, in human form3.

Heb 1:11 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways…

God has communicated his presence to people through:

  • Thunderstorms: Isa 29:6, Jer 25:30, Joel 3:16
  • Clouds, smoke, pillars of fire: Exod 3:4, 13:21, 14:24
  • As a man – Gen 18:1-2, Gen 32:24-30, Exod 33:11
  • As a warrior – Rev 19:11
  • As an angel – Rev 10:1

Is Christ a theophany? Leake continues:

Is the incarnation of Christ a theophany? If a theophany is God appearing to humanity to communicate His presence, is Jesus not the ultimate theophany? Yes and no. It is true that Jesus is a visible representation of God. He is Immanuel—God with us. Again, Poythress says it well: “But we should note that the incarnation of Christ is different from the Old Testament instances of theophany. The Old Testament theophanies are preliminary. They foreshadow and prefigure the coming of Christ in the flesh. The coming of Christ is their fulfillment, their climax (Matt 5:17). In addition, Christ’s incarnation is permanent, while the theophanies in the Old Testament were temporary.

Christ, the Son of God, is the very image of the Father:

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

Phil 2:6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

Phil 2:7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

Col 1:15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.

Rev 14:15

Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe:

The symbolism of “reaping the harvest” not only depicts a season when crops are gathered from the fields but also serves as a metaphor for “harvesting” souls, both good and evil; a time of judgment, as every soul must appear before God:

Joel 3:13   Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow— so great is their wickedness!”

Mark 4:26  He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

Matt 13:24  Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.  27 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’  28 “ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’  29 “ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ ”

Rev 14:16

So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested:

The noun therismos (the harvest) and the verb therizo (to harvest or cut down)4 have been used in reference to harvesting ripe crops. Consider ancient Israel and the anticipation that likely swept through communities as they gathered for the new harvest, feasting, and solemn ceremonies to offer the first and best of the harvest to God.

The omer offering (korban omer), or the sheaf offering, was an offering made by the priests of Israel in the Temple. The offering consisted of one ‘omer of freshly harvested grain and was waved in the Temple. It was offered on Passover and signaled the beginning of the 49-day, or “counting of the Omer” which concluded with the Shavuot holiday.5

The offering of the ‘omer, or first sheaf, by the priest in the temple set free the rest of the crop for general use and was the signal for the reaping, or ingathering (harvesting) to begin.

Lev 23:9 The LORD said to Moses, 10 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest. 11 He is to wave the sheaf before the LORD so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath.

 The “harvest” was also a common metaphor for the gathering of souls before the Judgment Seat of God.

Rev 14:17

Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle:

Here, John sees a different angel who is also prepared to harvest. The first personage was “one seated on a cloud,” wearing a “crown,” preparing to gather the first fruits. This next harvesting is delegated to a different angel.

Rev 14:18

Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, “Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe.”:

The “altar” was the seat of mercy depicted as the place of safety for the redeemed of God:

Rev 6:9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 10 They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” 11 Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.

Now, an angel appears at the end of the trumpet section, coming from the altar where the saints have rested for a season. These children of God have been crying out for justice!

Isaiah 5:7   The vineyard of the LORD Almighty is the nation of Israel, and the people of Judah are the vines he delighted in. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.

These angels are preparing to gather in the “grapes”, symbolic of those who deny God and refuse to accept His Gospel of peace.

Rev 14:19

The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath:

A winepress is a device that extracts juice from crushed grapes during wine making. The image of the great winepress of the wrath of God is drawn from Isaiah:

Isa 63:1  Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength? “It is I, proclaiming victory, mighty to save.”  2 Why are your garments red, like those of one treading the winepress?  3 “I have trodden the winepress alone; from the nations no one was with me. I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath; their blood spattered my garments, and I stained all my clothing.  4 It was for me the day of vengeance; the year for me to redeem had come.  5 I looked, but there was no one to help, I was appalled that no one gave support; so my own arm achieved salvation for me, and my own wrath sustained me.

In John’s vision, the Lord is seen in a white robe stained with the blood of his enemies. The metaphor of Israel as a grapevine is used throughout the Old Testament:

Isa 5:1 I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. 2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. 3 “Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. 4 What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? 5 Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. 6 I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it.” 7 The vineyard of the LORD Almighty is the nation of Israel, and the people of Judah are the vines he delighted in. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.

Joel 1:7 It has laid waste my vines and ruined my fig trees. It has stripped off their bark and thrown it away, leaving their branches white.

Lam 1:15 “The Lord has rejected all the warriors in my midst; he has summoned an army against me to crush my young men. In his winepress the Lord has trampled Virgin Daughter Judah.

Rev 14:20

And the winepress was trodden outside the city:

The vivid picture of God’s judgment on the wicked is illustrated by grapes being crushed. The concept of a final judgment place outside Jerusalem can be found in Jewish, Muslim, and Christian traditions that refer to Joel’s prophecy:

Joel 3:12   “Let the nations be roused; let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the nations on every side.

 The Hebrew word jehoshaphat means Yahweh Judges6. King Jehoshaphat was the fourth king of Judah (1 Kings 15:24) and reigned for 25 years (from 873 to 848 BC). During Jehoshaphat’s reign, the Lord delivered Judah and Jerusalem from the combined forces of Ammon, Moab, and the mountain people of Seir, causing the enemy forces to become confused and destroy each other (2 Ch 20:1-29).

The Valley of Jehoshaphat is known as the place of final judgment in the Biblical tradition and is evidenced by the extensive cemeteries of all three faiths on the slopes of the valley. Eusebius identifies the valley as the Valley of Hinnom7 and Jerome refers to the Kidron Valley, citing Joel as a reference.8

The valley’s symbolic significance is perhaps more important than its geographical location.  It represents an assurance of God’s righteous judgment on His enemies and the salvation of His people.

Heb 13:11-14    11 The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. 12 And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. 13 Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. 14 For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

Rev 14:20

And blood flowed as high as a horse’s bridle, for 1,600 stadia:

Following the pattern of parallelism, these events are the fourth time John has been shown what appears to be the final battle or judgment. There will be a fifth (Rev 6:15-17, 7:9-12, 11:15-19, 14:19-12, and 19:6-8).

According to the ancient historian Herodotus, one stadion was equal to 600 Greek feet9. The exact length of the stadion has been debated for hundreds of years, but many scholars agree that it represents about 157.7 meters (172.5 yds), or about 160 miles.

The wine press symbolizes the wrath of God and the final outcome of the evil of the world. Matthew Henry writes, “The patience of God towards sinners, is the greatest miracle in the world; but, though lasting, it will not be everlasting; and ripeness in sin is a sure proof of judgment at hand.”10

Footnotes

  1. What Exactly Is a Theophany? Mike Leake,  https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/what-exactly-is-a-theophany.html, accessed June 18, 2024. ↩︎
  2. Mike Leake: What Exactly is a Theophany? Bible Study Tools, July 9, 2021, https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/what-exactly-is-a-theophany.html, accessed May 5, 2024. ↩︎
  3. Ibid. ↩︎
  4. Strong’s G2325. ↩︎
  5. Rabbi Louis Jacobs, The Omer, My Jewish Learning, https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-omer/, accessed May 5, 2024 ↩︎
  6. Strong’s H3092. ↩︎
  7. The Onomsticon of Eusebius Pamphili. ↩︎
  8. Jerome’s Commentary of Jeremiah. ↩︎
  9. Stadion: Bible Study Tools, https://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/kjv/stadion.html, accessed May 6, 2024. ↩︎
  10. Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary, Revelation 14:20. ↩︎

*All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

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