THE TWO HARVESTS (VERSES 14-20)

“Then 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. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him Who 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.’ 16 So He Who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.”

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.”

Reaping the Earth’s Harvest (verses 14-16)

“Then 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. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him Who 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.’ 16 So He Who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.”

Verse 14 introduces us to a new scene in which the prophet sees a white cloud, with One seated upon that cloud, “like unto the Son of Man.” One is immediately reminded of the prophecy in Daniel 7, verses 13 and 14, which describes “One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven!” [“I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. 14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion,

Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.”]

He is wearing “a golden crown,” which is the common word for “the crown of victory.” In His hand He holds “a sharp sickle.”

Some commentators understand the entire scene from verses 14 through 20 to be simply one scene, referring only to judgment. But then, many other commentators see two separate viewpoints of the judgment represented here. The first viewpoint is that the harvest emphasizes the ingathering of the saved, while the gathering of the vintage and the treading of the wine press emphasizes the judgment upon the evil. There are two sides to judgment. The harvest of grain occurs in Jesus’ teachings as a symbol of the final judgment. For example, Mark 4, verse 29 [“But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”]; Matthew 13, verse 39 [“The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.”].

Both the harvest and the gathering of the grapes in connection with judgment are referred to in the prophecy of Joel. Joel, chapter 3, and verse 13, says, “Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the vats overflow; for their wickedness is great.” The symbol of a winepress being trodden to indicate the wrath of God is drawn from Isaiah 63, verses 3 and 4 [“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.”].

It would appear that the One Who is shown sitting upon a cloud symbolizes the coming of Christ as the victorious Lord to execute judgment and to receive His Own to Himself.

Verse 15 shows another angel coming out of the sanctuary, issuing with a loud voice the command to reap the harvest, “for the time is come for Thee to reap,” he says, “for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” Some commentators have felt that this was strange for an angel to give a command to the Son of Man. But this is not strange symbolism if we remember that Jesus, during His earthly ministry, emphasized that no man knew the day nor the hour [of the Day of Judgment], not even the angels in heaven nor the Son, but the Father only, Mark 13, verse 32 [“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”].

The angel that comes forth from the sanctuary comes from the very presence of God, and the fact that he cries out with a loud voice emphasizes this. The world translated “ripe” in this verse means that “the plants are fully ready for the harvest.”

Verse 16 simply gives the actual account of the reaping. Christ carries out the command that comes from the presence of God. Christ is still the reaper, who accomplishes the harvest even though the angels, as reapers, may bring it in from the four corners of the earth, Matthew 13:39 [“The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.”] and Matthew 24, and verse 31 [“And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”].