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Rev 14:14-20 Part 3, The Angel Thrust In His Sickle Into The Earth

[Study Aired February 28, 2025]

Rev 14:14  And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
Rev 14:15  And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
Rev 14:16  And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.
Rev 14:17  And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
Rev 14:18  And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
Rev 14:19  And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
Rev 14:20  And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

We paused our last study while in the midst of demonstrating that the angels who Christ said He would send to reap the earth are, in the final analysis, those who are given to have a part in the blessed and holy first resurrection. It is the Lord’s elect firstfruits who are called ‘angels’ in the book of Revelation. These ‘angels’ themselves tell us that they are our “fellow servants and those who keep the sayings of the prophecy of this book”. In other words these angels which show us these things are the Lord’s 144,000 elect who will rule with Him a thousand years before judging another class of angels in the lake of fire. Here are the verses with which we closed our last study:

Mat 13:39  The enemy that sowed them is the devil [via his ministers with two horns like a Lamb, but speaking as a dragon]; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

Rev 19:10  And I fell at his feet to worship him [the angel]. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Rev 21:17  And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

Rev 22:8  And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
Rev 22:9  Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

The angels to the seven churches are obviously those Godly men who the Lord sends to minister to His church. They are also the “seven angels who have the seven last plagues and who twice tell us that they are our our brothers…”

We have demonstrated with many scriptures that “God dwells in you”, that He “dwells in the heavens”, and “He dwells in His people”, all signifying us as His resting place and His temple:

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

Psa 103:19  The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.

Psa 115:3  But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.

Psa 123:1 <A Song of degrees.> Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.

Psa 132:13  For the LORD hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation.
Psa 132:14  This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.

“God dwells in you… God dwells in the heavens” which Christ tells us is within us. God must perform the miracle of blinding our spiritual eyes to keep us from seeing that the heavens in which He dwells are within His people.

Luk 17:20  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

This angel that “gathers the vine of the earth” with the very same sharp sickle that Christ uses is Christ’s Christ. We are His team and His team is also known as “the Lord and His Christ”,

Act 4:26  The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

One of Christ’s many titles is “the mighty God”.

Isa 9:6  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

And so once again we see this same team which will “harvest the clusters of the earth”, demonstrating the strength and kingdom of ‘our God and His Christ’ in this verse:

Rev 12:10  And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

So “the Son of Man” sends three angels to harvest us, as His firstfruits first (Rev 14: 6-13), and He “torments [us] with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb”, and we are told what all of the messages of these three angels and our judgment in fire and brimstone is:

Rev 14:10  The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
Rev 14:11  And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Rev 14:12  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

The wrath of God judges us and produces “the patience of the saints… and the faith of Jesus”. This is the same wrath of God, which we will later be referred to as “the seven last plagues” of the seven angels of Rev 15:1 which “fill up the wrath of God”.

‘The vision of Revelation 7 and the vision of Revelation 14, as we have demonstrated, is one.’ (Gen 41):

Rev 15:1  And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.

Gen 41:25  And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do.

Both chapters reveal the two separate judgments Christ spoke of in:

Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation [G2920 krisis: judgment].

The first judgment by the first three angels which produces the patience of the saints and the faith of Jesus signifies the judgment of the 144,000 firstfruits unto God and the Lamb who will rule with Him over the nations of this world for 1,000 years, and who will continue to “judge angels” in the lake of fire. That second judgment is the great white throne judgement, signified by “her grapes are fully ripe”. While this is not an overt statement it is a signified statement that this is the final harvest of the earth because any farmer who has grapes on his farm knows that the very last thing to ripen are grapes.

The visions of Revelation 7 and Revelation 14 are one vision which is concerned with two resurrections. There are only two resurrections mentioned in scripture and those two resurrections are separated by a symbolic “thousand years”. “The vision is one” does not mean that it all happens at the same time. There is an order in which the one vision must take place, and in the case of the story of Joseph’s interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream, the seven good and fat years must necessarily precede the seven bad and lean years. In the case of these two chapters dealing with the same two judgments, the “blessed and holy first resurrection” necessarily precedes the great white throne judgment by a thousand years plus a “short season” of rebellion against “the camp of the saints”.

The dragon is “that old serpent the called the devil, and Satan”, and while our old man rules in our lives we are all first his children and his angels who wage war against our Lord, as the inward armies of the carnal mind of our old man. This is called “war in the heavens” (Rev 12:7) where, as the children of “our father the devil”, we withstand “the Son of Man” when He comes to harvest us and to separate the Truths of His Word in us, from all the lying false doctrine and ‘tares’ of Babylon which are first within us. This has all been revealed to us earlier in chapter 12:

Rev 12:7  And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
Rev 12:8  And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
Rev 12:9  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Rev 12:10  And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

In the process of this war, our old man is tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.  This torment is the process of our judgment which is signified by the first three angels of Revelation 14 which distinguishes our judgment from that of the second three angels who are gathering the clusters of grapes. It is the fact that ‘grapes’ are not mentioned in the judgment of the first three angels and the fact that this verse does not appear in the judgment of the second three angels which makes clear that these are two separate judgments. Here is what is missing in the second judgment:

Rev 14:9  And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
Rev 14:10  The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
Rev 14:11  And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Rev 14:12  Here [being tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb] is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
Rev 14:13  And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

“The dead in Christ” are not mentioned in this second judgment of three angels. There is no mention of “the patience of the saints… they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus”. The fact that this is all “without the city” (Rev 14:20) tells us that this all, both spiritually and dispensationally, takes place outside the New Jerusalem which ‘New Jerusalem’ signifies the Lord’s firstfruit elect.

The city of our God, and the temple of our God is in the kingdom of our God, and the “salvation, strength, and kingdom of our God and the power of His Christ” (Rev 12:10) cannot begin to be entered into until the seven plagues of the seven angels begin to be fulfilled within us. This “hour of the judgment of our God” upon all the sins of our flesh accompanies the displacing of the lies of Babylon within us. That time of struggle which we all experience as we struggle to see through those lies is signified by “the days of the voice of the seventh angel when he shall begin to sound” (Rev 10:7).

What is the Biblical significance of 1600 furlongs? 16 is two times 8. Two is the number which signifies the witness we bear for our Lord while in these vessels of clay, as well as the witness we bear as we judge all those who are cast into the lake of fire. “The 8th is of the seven” signifies the beast that “is not and yet is within each of us [“I am crudified with Christ nevertheless I live”, Gal 2:20]. This eighth beast “goes into perdition” while being the seventh beast and even though he is becoming a new man, he is still in a vessel of clay, or flesh, which cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and must therefore “go into perdition”.

2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure [“Jesus Christ”, vrs 6] in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

Rev 17:11  And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

Here is what ‘was and is not’ means:

Rom 7:9  For I was alive [thought at that time that I was alive] without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.

Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Here now is how this second judgment of the second three angels concludes:

Rev 14:20  And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

But what does this number is 1600 signify? 1600 is 2 times 8 times 100, and 100 is a multiple of 10, which signifies the perfection and full blossom of the self-righteous corruption in our flesh. The number 10 signifies the perfection of corruptible flesh which cannot inherit the kingdom of God, even if it is the flesh of Jesus Christ.

https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/numbers_ten/

1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Here now are these same verses of Rev 14:14-20, repeated in Rev 19:

Rev 19:11  And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
Rev 19:12  His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; [He has spent the past thousand years ruling ‘the kingdoms of this world’, Rev 11:15] and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. [This is the Son of Man with the sharp sickle and a golden crown upon His head]
Rev 19:13  And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. [ This is “My blood in the New Testament”, Luk 22:20 and 1Co 11:25. This ‘blood that comes to the horses bridle’ in this ‘grape harvest’ signifies the final harvest at the great white throne judgment]
Rev 19:14  And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. [these ‘armies… clothed in white linen” are the Lord’s Christ, who He sends to reap ‘the clusters of the earth’s grapes’, the last crop to ripen, and places them in ‘the winepress of His wrath’]
Rev 19:15  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God [the exact same “winepress of the wrath of God” of Rev 14:19].

This ‘sharp sword’ is signified as “a sharp sickle with which to harvest the earth in the great white throne judgment”, just as He is using His Word to reap us in “this present time”, [Rom 8:18]. The ‘sharp sword’, the ‘sharp sickle’, and the tormenting fire of both judgments is the Word of God, which will judge “every man” (1Co 3:13-15):

Rev 19:16  And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
Rev 19:17  And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;[This is not “the marriage supper of The Lamb” mentioned in the first part of this 19^th chapter. This is the last gasp of dying flesh at ‘the battle of Armegeddon’, ‘when the thousand years of being ruled with a rod of iron are expired’, Rev 20:7]
Rev 19:18  That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. [the same “all men” of Rev 13, who “receive the mark, name, number and image of the beast”]
Rev 19:19  And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
Rev 19:20  And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive [as spirits] into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
Rev 19:21  And the remnant were slain with the sword [or “sharp sickle”] of him that sat upon the horse, which sword [or sharp sickle] proceeded out of his mouth and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.  

1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

The works of all men are burned and all men are saved by “fire and brimstone”. It is the same fire in both the judgment of this present time and the great white throne judgment/lake of fire/second death. The fire of the first judgment is referred to simply as fire in 1Co 3:13-15, or it is called “fiery trials”, in 1Pe 4:12. It is never referred to as “the lake of fire” which does not appear until after the thousand year rule and after the “short season” of rebellion which immediately follows the thousand year reign of Christ and His elect.

Summary:

We have seen that our end is better than our beginning, and our death is better than our birth. We also saw that being “dead in Christ” is a spiritual statement concerning the spiritual condition of those who die in Christ in this present time. Dying to “life in this world” and living our new life as a “living sacrifice unto God”, are part of our judgment in this present time (Rom 8:18). We have seen that those who are being judged in this present time are signified by the 144,000 who will be raised up in the first “resurrection to life” at the beginning of the thousand year reign, as contrasted to those who will be raised up in the resurrection of the great white throne judgment after the thousand year reign of Christ and His Christ.

We have seen that the two groups of three angels in Revelation 14 signify the two resurrections of Revelation 7. The first being “the resurrection of life” of the 144,000, and the second and last resurrection being “the resurrection of judgment” at the great white throne judgment/lake of fire/second death (Rev 20:11-15).

We have seen that the first group of three angels in this 14^th chapter are those who endure the fire and brimstone of the Lord’s Word in this present time and who have been given the patience of the saints and the faith of Jesus and are blessed in their death in this present time:

Rev 14:11  And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Rev 14:12  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
Rev 14:13  And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them [“the resurrection of life”, Joh 5:27-29).

We have seen that “the dead which die in the Lord” are those who are granted to have a part in the ‘blessed and holy first resurrection” which ‘first resurrection’ transpires at the beginning of the thousand year reign.

We have also seen that the judgment of the second three angels is the great white throne judgment which concerns the judgment of all who were not given to have a part in the blessed and holy first resurrection.

Rev 14:14  And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud [one] sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
Rev 14:15  And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
Rev 14:16  And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.

The earth is not reaped by the first three angels of the first part of this 14^th chapter. Those reaped by those first three angels are those who have the patience of the saints and the faith of Jesus. Those who have “the patience of the saints… keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” are the 144,000 “firstfruits unto God and the Lamb” as contrasted with “the clusters of the earth’s… grape” harvest.

But we have also seen that the Son of Man, who is Christ, “comes on a cloud to reap the clusters of the earth’s vine” in the judgment of the second group of three angels. There is no mention of the preaching of the gospel nor “the patience of the saints”, nor “the faith of Jesus”. Instead the first two angels of this second set second judgment “come out of the temple in heaven”, and the third angel comes out of the altar. We know that the temple and the altar both signify those in whom Christ dwells in this present time. ‘The temple and the altar’ signify those in this present time who repent of their sins and are granted to have a part in that blessed and holy first resurrection:

Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. [Those who rule with Christ for 1,000 years are those who come up in “the resurrection of life”, Joh 5:27-29]
Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

It is through those who are given to have a part in this first resurrection, “our Lord’s Christ”, that Christ will ‘gather the clusters of the earth’s grapes”, the very last crop which ripens, with the same sharp sickle, which is nothing less than the “sharp two edged sword… which is the fiery… Word of God”.

Rev 14:17  And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
Rev 14:18  And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.

We have seen that the “winepress of the wrath of God” of these verses, is the same “wrath of God” contained in the seven plagues of the seven angels which must be fulfilled in every man who would enter into the temple of God in heaven (Rev 15:1 and 8).

Rev 14:19  And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.

Finally we saw that the 1600 furlongs of blood signifies the blood of Christ which has been shed by every person who ever lived. 2 times 8 times signifies the witness of our new man against our old man. Multiplying that witness against our old man by 100, signifies the perdition of our flesh, and it signifies the destruction of all flesh.

https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?s=the+number+eight

The number 8 symbolizes our new man, who, even though “we have Christ in us as “this earthen vessel”, still must be “saved… by fire” as our old man’s iniquities are burned out of us.

1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

“Earthen vessels” are signified by the number ten and its multiple of ten times ten or 100. ‘Earthen vessels’ signify our dying corruptible bodies of flesh and blood which “cannot inherit the kingdom of God” and must “go into perdition”. So, 2x8x100 = 1600 furlongs.

Rev 14:20  And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

We will end this study by pointing out that just as the two groups in chapter seven have much in common, they both come up through great tribulation and wash their robes white in the blood of the Lamb, yet they also differ in that the first group in chapter 7 is numbered and the second group is not numbered. The first group is judged in this present time and have the patience and faith of the saints, keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus. The first and the second group are both judged the ‘fire and brimstone… wrath of God’. It is only the first group who are being judged in this present time, and who ‘have the patience of the saints, keep the commandments of God, and have the faith of Jesus’. These words are not used to describe the second group being judged by the second group of three angels.

The first group judged by three angels are called “the firstfruits unto God and the lamb” while the second group judged by three angels are called ‘the clusters of the grapes of the earth” which ‘grapes’ as any farmer knows well are anything but ‘firstfruits’ and are instead the very last thing on the farm to ripen and to be harvested.

In our next study, Lord willing, we will discover the meaning of the sea of glass mingled with fire, and we will discover what the significance is of getting the victory over the beast, his image, his mark, and the number of his name. We will also discover the Biblical significance of “having the harps of God”. Most importantly we will see the connection between the wrath of God, and the “manifest tokens of His judgment” (2Th 1:15)

2Th 1:4  So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:
2Th 1:5  Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:

Here are the verses for our next study:

Rev 15:1  And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.
Rev 15:2  And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, [and] over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.
Rev 15:3  And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous [are] thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true [are] thy ways, thou King of saints.
Rev 15:4  Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for [thou] only [art] holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest