The remainder of chapter 14 has two separate parenthetical passages that have to do with Armageddon. The actual battle of Armageddon (it’s not really a battle, more like a slaughter) and the events surrounding it are described in chapter 19. So, we’ll talk more specifically about this later.
The first passage (verses 14-16) goes something like this: “Then I looked and saw a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was One resembling the Son of Man, and He had a gold crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. And another angel came out of the temple and shouted with a loud voice to Him Who was sitting on the cloud, saying, Put in Your sickle and reap, the time has come to gather the harvest, for the crop is fully ripened. So, He Who was sitting on the cloud thrust His sickle towards the earth, and the earth was harvested.”
In order to understand these two passages, we have to pay particular attention to the symbolic language. In this passage we see a reference made to a harvest. This harvest refers to the gathering of believers to God, a symbolism used several times by Jesus in the Gospels (Matthew 9:37-38; John 4:35-38). The obvious difference here is that these believers are martyrs. There will be multitudes of believers (and unbelievers for that matter) all over the earth that will survive the tribulation period and continue living during the Millennial Kingdom of Christ. Of course we’ll have much more to say about that later as we examine the Millennium.
To this we can add several other factors. The first is the timing of the event described. We know from the other parenthetic passages that John is winding his way down to the end of the tribulation period. Another is the fact that in the very next chapter we see a worship scene in heaven, “and those who were victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name were standing beside the glassy sea with the harps of God in their hands” (15:2). We already know from Revelation 4:6 that the glassy sea is the area in front of God’s throne in heaven. And finally we know from a previous lesson that those who possess harps are redeemed believers. So, we must conclude that this passage refers to the final gathering of those martyred during the tribulation period and therefore this age is about to end with the second coming of Christ (19:11-14) and Armageddon (19:15-21).
The second passage reads, “Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he also carried a sharp sickle. And yet another angel, the one in charge of the fire, came from the altar and called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, Put in your sickle and reap the clusters of grapes from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are fully ripened. So the angel thrust his sickle towards the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the huge winepress of God’s indignation. And the grapes were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and the blood flowed out of the winepress, reaching as high as the horses bridles for a distance of over 180 miles.”
In both of these passages we see “another angel came out of the temple”. This is the same temple (or sanctuary) in heaven where God’s throne and presence are (Revelation 7:15, 11:19, 15:5-8 and 16:1, 17). These are angels that literally come from the presence of God (look at Luke 1:19 for another great example). The angel in charge of the fire that comes from the altar is, in all probability, the same angel mentioned in Revelation 8:3-5, 9:13-15 and 16:7. If you read these references, you’ll get better acquainted with him.
Both “wine” (oinos) and “winepress” (lenos) are sometimes used symbolically. Back in lesson 42 we saw the phrase “drunk with the wine of her idolatry” in the message of the second angel. This is a reference to the religious deception that started with Babylon. If you look at this historically, it refers to the religious system that started way back with Nimrod, who established that ancient city in Genesis 10:8-10. Babylon was the beginning of institutional religion (you can go back to Lesson 18 and review the section on Nimrod) and has always been the symbol of idolatry, deception and man’s desire to craft a god and a belief system that caters to the flesh and avoids truth.
Babylon is the “mother” of religion (Revelation 17:5), as I will explain in more detail later. This is something that is still the main ingredient found in institutional, denominational religion today – some things will never change until God changes them. You can see this symbolism in Revelation 14:10, 17:2 and 18:3. Closely related to this, “wine” is also used to describe the contents of “the cup of His indignation” poured out on Babylon and the nations in Revelation 14:10, 16:19 and 19:15.
So, we need to go back to the second passage. The word “winepress” is translated from lenos, a word that is used to describe a trough or vat used to tread grapes to extract their juice (as in the parable of the householder in Matthew 21:33). We know exactly how it is being used in this passage by comparing it to Revelation 19:15, “And out of His mouth comes a sharp sword, which He uses to smite the nations. Then He will control them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the indignation of God Almighty.” The winepress then represents the execution of God’s Divine judgment carried out by Christ against the enemies of Israel as the final action necessary just prior to the establishment of His Millennial Kingdom (“control them with a rod of iron” is a reference to the Millennium).
The symbolism is striking. Just as the winepress would overflow with the juice of the trodden grapes, at Armageddon the land will overflow with the blood of those who gather to destroy God. The description of the carnage in Revelation 19:15 is caused by a sharp sword that comes out of the mouth of the returning Christ. This is probably a reference to the things that He says in judgment of the massive army that has come against Him. As we will see later, the real damage is done by the rain, hail, fire (lightning) and brimstone. However, the result is the same, a river of blood four to five feet deep and over 180 miles long.
The next chapter starts with the preparation of the last seven plagues (the vials or bowls) that will complete the three series of judgments in Revelation.