Study Audio Download

Rev 14:13-20 Part 2, The Angel Thrust in His Sickle into The Earth

[Study Aired February 23, 2025]

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.
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 ended our last study quoting this very profound verse of scripture:

Joh 20:21  Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

If Christ has sent us “as My Father has sent me”, then we need to know what Christ’s Father sent Him to accomplish. So why did the Father send Christ and what was Christ expected to accomplish for His Father?

Here is the answer to that all important question:

Joh 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but [God sent His Son into the world] that the world through him might be saved.

In this study we will point out the similarities between this 14^th chapter and chapter 7. Chapter 7 and chapter 14 both begin with the revelation of “144,000” firstfruits who are distinguished from a great multitude which no man could number:

Rev 7:4  And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.

In the ninth verse we encounter another group “of all nations and kindreds and tongues” which is so large that “no man could number” them.

In Revelation 14 the first thing we see is this same 144,000 who are in this chapter identified as “the firstfruits unto God and the Lamb”:

Rev 14:1  And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.
Rev 14:2  And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:
Rev 14:3  And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
Rev 14:4  These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

The ‘firstfruits’ signify those who are the first to be raised to life and rule with Christ in His kingdom for 1000 years. That is why Christ likens all of His parables to “the kingdom of heaven”.

Mat 13:33  Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

Mat 13:44  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.

Mat 13:45  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:

Mat 13:47  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:

Mat 13:52  Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.

Mat 20:1  For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.

Mat 22:2  The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,

These 144,000 “firstfruits unto God and The Lamb” are signified in Christ’s parables by the lost sheep that was found and celebrated, more than and before the ninety and nine sheep “which needed no repentance.” The 144,000 firstfruits are signified by the prodigal son who was repentant, and was also celebrated before the elder son who needed no repentance. The 144,000 firstfruits unto God and the Lamb are signified by the laborers in the Lord’s vineyard who were hired at the last hour and got paid first with the same wages as those who had worked all day. Each of these parables contains the same two groups. Those two groups are 1) the first, and 2) the last:

Mat 20:16  So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen. [To be in “the resurrection of life, the blessed and holy… first resurrection”, Joh 5:27-29, Rev 20:6]

1Co 15:47  The first man is of the earth, earthy [and will be given life last]: the second man [who is raised from the dead first] is the Lord from heaven.

In this 14^th chapter these two separate groups are both in the process of being judged. Both judgments are signified by the work of three angels. The first three angels judge the 144,000, and we are informed in the order they are presented to us… the first angel proclaims “the hour of His judgment is come” (1Pe 4:17), the second angel proclaims that “Babylon is fallen is fallen”…

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.

The next two verses tell us who this group signifies:

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 second three angels mention none of these things which all apply only to those who are being judged in “this present time” (Rom 8:18), before the thousand-year reign while the beast and the false prophet are given to control the earth. We are specifically told that the process of the judgment of the first three angels is “the patience and faith of the saints who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus:

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 judgment of the first three angels concludes with this very encouraging proclamation:

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.

There we have it. Those who are judged in this process of judgment, which is what the number three signifies: Numbers Three in Scripture

Numbers in Scripture: Three The Process of Spiritual Completion Through Judgment

The second ‘three angels’ are introduced in an entirely different way:

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.

First we are told that John sees a white cloud. Then we see “the Son of Man seated on the cloud wearing a golden crown “and in His hand a sharp sickle.”

The next verse, verse 15, introduces us to the first of the second three angels of this 14^th chapter. This first angel tells “the Son of Man” to “Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” Notice that this first angel and the second angel both “came out of the temple”. This second angel, just like The Son of Man sitting on the cloud, also has “a sharp sickle.” Then the third angel with power over fire comes out from the altar and tells the second angel which came out of the temple with a sharp sickle that he, too, must thrust in his sharp sickle and reap:

Rev 14:18  And another angel [the third angel] came out from the altar, which had power over [the lake of] 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.

It is easily demonstrated that both the cloud and the temple signify the 144,000 firstfruits who are resurrected at the beginning of the thousand years and who reign the earth with Christ for a thousand years:

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.

Job 36:29  Also can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, or the noise of his tabernacle?
Job 36:30  Behold, he spreadeth his light upon it, and covereth the bottom of the sea.
Job 36:31  For by them [the clouds] judgeth he the people; he giveth meat in abundance.

Heb 12:1  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses [the typical saints], let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

Mat 24:30  And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven [“By them He judges the people” Job 36:31] with power and great glory.

Now we understand that the cloud upon which the Son of man sits is His “great cloud of witnesses” (Heb 12:1), and we understand that the temple out of which the first two angels come signifies our hearts and minds where the Lord dwells (1Co 3:15-16). What does the altar out of which this third angel comes signify? The altar always signifies the cross of Christ where we lay down the life of our old man and upon which we are crucified with our Lord “for His body’s sake, which is the church” (Col 1:24).

Is “the Son of Man” on this white cloud the Savior of this world? Of course He is. Nevertheless Christ Himself tells us that He is sending us into this world just as His Father sent Him to save this world. Putting John 3:17 together with John 20:21 makes 1 John 4:17 mean a lot more to us:

1Jn 4:14  And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.
1Jn 4:15  Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.
1Jn 4:16  And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
1Jn 4:17  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is [vs 14, sent to be the savior of the world], so are we in this world.

Did Christ send us into this world to be saviors of sinners? What do the scriptures say?

Oba 1:21  And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.

Joh 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but [God sent His Son] that the world through him might be saved.

Joh 20:21  Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

“Mount Zion” is a symbol for God’s elect, and God’s elect are His agents for bringing mercy and life to all men. Let’s read it again:

Eph 3:9  And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly [places] might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

Remember this verse quoted above:

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.

Here in Revelation 14:17 is “a man that is… the angel.”

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.

The first two angels “come out of the temple which is in heaven.” The third angel comes out from the altar with the power over fire.  The phrases ‘out of’ the temple and ‘out from’ the altar, are both translated from the single Greek word ‘ek’, G1537. It is properly translated as either ‘out from’ or ‘out of’.’ Both the temple and the altar signify the Lord’s elect who are being crucified with Him daily. We have demonstrated over and over that “ye are the temple of God.” We have demonstrated that these angels are redeemed, resurrected men who are also reapers:

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 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.

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.

It is “the church” who dies with Christ for the sins of the world who also shows these things to “all men”, just as Christ showed them to John.

Eph 3:9  And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly [places] might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, [“These things” of Rev 22:8]

We will pause here and continue in our next study to see the differences in these two sets of three angels, and we will also take note of all they have in common.