Two Harvests, One Lord Text: Revelation 14:14-20
Introduction: The Inescapable Harvest
We live in an age that desperately wants to believe that history is going nowhere. Modern man, in his rebellion, wants to be the star of a movie with no plot, the hero of a story with no ending. He wants his choices to matter for the moment, but not for eternity. He wants to plant whatever he pleases, thistle and thorn, and yet never face a harvest. But the Word of God thunders against this delusion. History is not a random series of unfortunate events; it is a field, cultivated by the living God, and it is rushing toward a harvest. There are no exceptions. There are no deferments. Every man, every institution, every nation will be gathered. The only question is, to which barn?
The book of Revelation is given to us not to frighten us with newspaper headlines about helicopters and microchips, but to fortify us with the truth of Christ's absolute sovereignty over history. It is an unveiling of the logic of God's dealings with men. And here in chapter 14, we come to a pivot point. After the proclamation of the everlasting gospel and the warnings of judgment, John is shown a vision of the end result. The time for sowing is over, and the time for reaping has come.
This passage presents us with two distinct harvests. They are not the same, though they happen in the same field, which is the earth. One is a harvest of grain, gathered by the Son of Man Himself. The other is a harvest of grapes, gathered by an angel and thrown into the wine press of the wrath of God. This is the great biblical doctrine of the antithesis, the fundamental separation between two seeds, two humanities, two destinies. You are either wheat for the granary or grapes for the press. There is no third option. And for the saints to whom John was writing, facing the hot breath of the beast, this was not abstract theology. It was the ultimate comfort. Their persecutors might look like they are winning the day, but the Lord of the harvest has His sickle sharpened, and He does not miss His appointments.
We must understand this vision in its context. The primary fulfillment of these judgments, as with most of Revelation, was directed at apostate Jerusalem in the first century. She was the vine that was supposed to produce good fruit for God and instead produced wild, bitter grapes. She was the city that killed the prophets and crucified the Lord of Glory. The judgment that fell in A.D. 70 was a harvest of wrath. But the principle is a pattern. God deals with all rebellious nations and apostate churches in the same way. The harvest of Jerusalem is a microcosm of how God judges the world throughout history as He extends the kingdom of His Son.
The Text
Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. And another angel came out of the sanctuary, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sits on the cloud, "Put in Your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe." Then He who sits on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.
And another angel came out of the sanctuary which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. Then another angel, the one who has authority over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, "Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe." So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God. And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses' bridles, for a distance of 1,600 stadia.
(Revelation 14:14-20 LSB)
The Harvest of the Son of Man (vv. 14-16)
The vision begins with the Lord of the harvest Himself.
"Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand." (Revelation 14:14)
John's language immediately throws us back to the prophet Daniel. This is the Son of Man from Daniel 7, who comes on the clouds to receive dominion, glory, and a kingdom. But here, He is not just receiving a kingdom; He is acting as King. He is seated on a white cloud, a symbol of divine majesty and judgment. He wears a golden crown, signifying His royal authority. And He holds a sharp sickle. This is Jesus Christ, the exalted King, ready to execute judgment and salvation.
The sickle is an instrument of harvest. In Scripture, the harvest is a dual metaphor. It can refer to the gathering of the elect for salvation, as when Jesus told His disciples the fields were "white for harvest" (John 4:35). It can also refer to the gathering of the wicked for judgment (Joel 3:13). Here in Revelation 14, we see both. The critical thing to note is who is doing the harvesting. This first harvest is conducted by the Son of Man directly. This is personal. This is the good harvest.
An angel then comes from the sanctuary, the very presence of God, with a message.
"Put in Your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe." (Revelation 14:15)
The timing of the harvest is not determined by earthly factors. It is not determined by the beast, or by Rome, or by the machinations of wicked men. The hour is set by God the Father. The command comes from the heavenly sanctuary. History is not a runaway train; it is a divine timetable. The word "ripe" here means dried, ready. The grain has reached its full maturity. This is a picture of the gathering of God's elect. When applied to the first-century context, this was the rescue of the Christian remnant from the coming destruction of Jerusalem. Jesus had warned them to flee when they saw the abomination of desolation (Matthew 24:15-16). This was their harvest, their deliverance. In the broader sense, this is the ingathering of the saints at the end of an age, or at the end of all ages. Christ gathers His own. He knows His wheat, and He will not lose a single grain.
The action is swift and decisive: "Then He who sits on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped" (v. 16). This is a global harvest. The authority of Christ is not provincial. He reaps the whole earth. This is the culmination of the Great Commission. The gospel goes out, the elect are gathered from every tribe and tongue, and Christ Himself brings them safely into His barn.
The Harvest of Wrath (vv. 17-20)
The scene now shifts dramatically. The imagery is similar, but the tone and the outcome are terrifyingly different.
"And another angel came out of the sanctuary which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle." (Revelation 14:17)
Notice the distinction. The first harvest was performed by the Son of Man. This second harvest is delegated to an angel. While Christ is intimately involved in the salvation of His people, the work of damnation is carried out by angelic ministers of His justice. This is not to say He is uninvolved, He is the one who commands it, but the distinction is deliberate. He gathers His bride; His servants take out the trash.
Another angel, this one from the altar, gives the command.
"Then another angel, the one who has authority over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice... 'Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.'" (Revelation 14:18)
This angel comes from the altar, where the prayers of the saints have been offered (Rev. 8:3-5). This harvest of wrath is the answer to the prayers of the martyrs, who cried out, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" (Rev. 6:10). God's judgment is not arbitrary. It is His just and holy response to the shedding of innocent blood and the persecution of His people. The fire from the altar is the fire of righteous vengeance. The grapes are not just ripe; they are fully ripe, at their peak. The sin has reached its full measure. The cup of iniquity is overflowing.
The "vine of the earth" is a picture of apostate humanity, and in its immediate context, apostate Israel. Israel was supposed to be God's choice vine (Isaiah 5), but she produced sour grapes worthy only of being trampled. This is the world system in rebellion against God, drunk on its own pride and wickedness.
The Wine Press of God's Fury
What follows is one of the most graphic and sobering depictions of divine judgment in all of Scripture.
"So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God. And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses' bridles, for a distance of 1,600 stadia." (Revelation 14:19-20)
The grapes are not stored; they are thrown into a wine press. A wine press is a place of crushing. This is the "great wine press of the wrath of God." The imagery is drawn directly from the Old Testament, particularly Isaiah 63, where the Messiah treads the wine press alone, and His garments are stained with the blood of His enemies. This is not a pretty picture, and it is not meant to be. Our sentimental age wants a God who is all Hallmark card and no wrath. But the God of the Bible is a consuming fire. His wrath against sin is as pure and holy as His love for His people.
The press is trodden "outside the city." For the first-century fulfillment, this is profoundly significant. The Roman armies surrounded and destroyed Jerusalem, the city that had rejected her King. The judgment happened outside the gates. It also echoes the fact that Jesus Himself was crucified outside the city (Hebrews 13:12). The place of His rejection became the place of their destruction. The very ground that received His saving blood now becomes the place where the blood of His enemies is poured out.
The scale of the carnage is depicted with apocalyptic hyperbole. Blood flows up to the horses' bridles for 1,600 stadia. A stadion is about 600 feet, so this is a river of blood about 180 miles long and four to five feet deep. The number 1,600 is symbolic. It is 40 times 40, or 4 squared times 10 squared. Four is the number of the earth (the four corners, the four winds), and ten is the number of completion. This signifies the complete and total judgment of the rebellious earth. This is not a partial judgment. When God's wrath comes in its fullness, it is devastating and absolute. This was true of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, as the historian Josephus records a slaughter of unimaginable proportions. And it will be true for every system that sets itself up against Christ and His kingdom.
Conclusion: Flee the Press
So what do we do with a text like this? First, we must worship. We worship the Son of Man who holds the sickle of salvation, who personally gathers His people, and who will not let any of them perish. We are the grain for His barn, and our security is found in His sovereign hand alone.
Second, we must tremble. We must tremble at the holiness of a God whose wrath against sin is so fierce. We must reject the effeminate, tame, manageable god of modern evangelicalism and bow before the God who treads the wine press. This should instill in us a holy fear and a hatred for our own sin, the very sin that required either the blood of Christ on the cross or our blood in the press.
Third, we must evangelize. These two harvests are coming for every person you know. There is no neutrality. Every soul is either ripening as wheat or ripening as a grape for wrath. The gospel we preach is the power of God for salvation, rescuing men from the press and gathering them into the granary. The proclamation of the gospel is how the Son of Man swings His sickle in salvation throughout the ages. Our task is to go into all the world and preach this gospel, knowing that it is a savor of life unto life for some, and a savor of death unto death for others.
The harvest is coming. The Lord of the harvest is on His throne, crowned with gold, sickle in hand. The question for each of us is simple. When He swings His sickle over the field of your life, what will He find? Will He find wheat, ripened by His grace, ready for the eternal barn? Or will He find a bitter cluster of grapes, swollen with pride and rebellion, fit only for the great wine press of the wrath of God?
Flee the press. Flee to the cross. For it was there that the Son of Man entered the wine press for us, so that we might become the good grain for Him.