Terrible Reaping


Revelation 14:14-20
14Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” 16So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped. 17Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18And another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.” 19So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse’s bridle, for 1,600 stadia.

The sweeping story of the rise and fall of evil told in Revelation 12-14 comes to a close as the final judgment of God rains down upon the earth. The description could only be categorized as terrifying. In the end, human blood flows almost 4 feet 4-5 feet deep. God’s wrath is not to be taken lightly.

This scene opens with the Jesus, seated on the clouds. This is a familiar way to see Christ which He described for the Disciples as He trained them for ministry. In the same way the Disciples had seen Jesus leave on the clouds at His ascension (Acts 1), now He returns on the clouds.

Matthew 24:29–31
29Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

An angel comes from the Father and announces that that time has come for the reaping to begin. This announcement sets everything in motion. “While at first glance it may seem strange that an angel should give a command to the exalted Lord Christ, the angel is no more than a messenger from God the Father. The command to begin the harvest comes from the Father, and the angel is merely relaying the command to the Lord Christ. The harvest and the judgment are executed by the exalted Christ because he won that right by his death and resurrection, but they are done under the authority of God the Father. And the heavenly Father is the one who determines the exact hour or moment that it will be carried out.”
Brighton, L. A. ©1999. Revelation (pp. 390–391). St. Louis, MO: Concordia Pub. House.

Jesus had explained to the Disciples that He did not know when the time for His return would come. That is one of the truly great mysteries of the Trinity. How could the Son of God not know something that the Father knew? They are One. But that is how it is. We accept those mysteries on faith.

Mark 13:32
But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

The reaping that takes place is terrifying for those who have chosen rejection of the Savior. Their blood will flow as they are cut down and trampled under the wrath of God. Honestly, it’s a section of the Scriptures I don’t even like to read. My heart breaks for those who have rejected God and I guess that’s the point. If my heart is broken, perhaps I will be more driven to share the Gospel for I believe God’s heart is broken too. I can only pray I don’t have to see this part of the End.

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