Reaping the Grapes of Wrath
17 Then another
angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
18 And another
angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried with a
loud cry to him who 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."
19 So the angel
thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it
into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
20 And the
winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress,
up to the horses' bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.
27.2. The harvest of the wicked:
Rev.
14:17 Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also
having a sharp sickle.
We see here that Christ has a
sickle and the earth is harvested, then we see that an angel also has a sickle
and gathers the earth's grapes for the winepress of God’s wrath. It is likely
that the harvest that Christ reaps is his own people, the wheat. These are the
firstfruits of the harvest mentioned in Rev 14:4. The angels also participate
in the harvest,
Mat 13:41 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is
fulfilled, which says: ' Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,
And seeing you will see and not perceive;
, they do the weeding out of the
wicked who are left after the rapture of the elect.
v18 - 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 angels words are similar to
Joel
3:13 Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down; For the
winepress is full, The vats overflow --- For their wickedness is great."
which is
clearly judgmental - "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!" The angel in charge of the fire, that is the fire of
judgement, came from the altar where the incense
and prayers
of the saints are offered, 8:3. This same censer is filled with fire and hurled
to earth, 8:5, as a prelude to the seven trumpets. The grapes are ripe meaning
that the time that God judges for the Second Coming and the harvest of the age
has arrived. The angel in charge of the fire then orders the angel with the
sickle to gather the clusters of grapes because they are ripe, man has filled
up his sins to the full (Joel 3:13).
Rev 14:19 So
the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth,
and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
– This compares to Christ harvesting the earth
(the saints) in 14:16. The winepress of God’s wrath occurs in
Isa 63:2-6,
Why is Your apparel red, And Your garments like
one who treads in the winepress?
3 " I have trodden the winepress alone,
And from the peoples no one was with Me. For I have trodden them in My anger,
And trampled them in My fury; Their blood is sprinkled upon My garments, And I
have stained all My robes.
4 For the day of vengeance is in My heart,
And the year of My redeemed has come.
5 I looked, but there was no one to help,
And I wondered That there was no one to uphold; Therefore My own arm brought
salvation for Me; And My own fury, it sustained Me.
6 I have trodden down the peoples in My
anger, Made them drunk in My fury, And brought down their
strength to the earth."
Lam 1:15,
Joel 3:13,
Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest
is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for
their wickedness is great.
see also Rev 19:15
in which Christ is said to tread the winepress
of God’s wrath, that passage deals with Christ's second coming as does this
passage. The winepress is an expression for God’s wrath and the day of his
vengeance. Hendriksen sees it as representing hell, but it is more likely the
carnage resulting from the day of his vengeance when he executes judgement on
the earth
(Zep
1:14-18, Lam 1:15 cf. Rev 19:15, 21). In this reference to God’s wrath the
people are grapes which are pressed in the winepress and their blood is the
grape juice. John uses a 0similar figure in
Worshiping
beast must drink the cup filled with the wine of the fury
14:10
in which those who worship the beast will drink the wine of God’s fury, see
also the reference to Babylon in which God gave her the cup filled with the
wine of the fury of his wrath 16:19 which resulted in her being consumed by fire (18:8,
19:3).
Rev. 14:20 And the winepress was trampled
outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses'
bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.
The Greek word for blood haima can be used figuratively of the
juice of grapes. They are trampled in the winepress outside the city because
that is where the wicked are, see Rev 22:15, his wrath is not against his
people within the city which is the New Jerusalem. Just as the Gentiles trample
upon the holy city, Rev 11:2, so Jesus tramples on the wicked outside the city,
19:15.
1,600 stadia (184 miles: about
the length of Israel)
1600 furlongs….A furlong is 600 feet. 1600 furlongs is
181 miles is the length of Israel from the North to the south. Blood will flow
as the armies of Earth are dissolved at the return of Messiah. The height of a
horses bridle is about
It thus signifies 'completeness as regards the
created world, and the inability of anyone to escape God's judgement' (Wilson).
See also the description of the judgement upon Pharaoh in Ezek 32:6
5 I will lay your flesh on the mountains,
And fill the valleys with your carcass.
6 ' I will also water the land with the flow
of your blood, Even to the mountains; And the riverbeds will be full of you.
No comments:
Post a Comment