revelation 14:14 commentary

Man has been at-bat, but this judgment is the time when God comes to bat. This judgment comes to fulfillment in chapter 19. We have not seen the last war yet. Finally, it is alleged that the contrast here to the harvest-angel is the angel of the wine-press, and that this cannot possibly be Christ. This is a vision of the Lord Jesus coming in power and great glory. Christ holds the right to all judgment (John 5:27). 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 furlong“. The sickle shows that the harvest has come. One sat - `one sitting' [ katheemenon (Greek #2521) homoion (Greek #3664) in 'Aleph (') A B C, Vulgate, Coptic]. The sharp sickle in his hand symbolizes harvest. (Witham). . Yet we must think of Christ, who is being symbolized by the vision. 15 Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” 16 So he who was seated on the cloud … A Preterist Commentary on Revelation 14: Summary and Highlights In the following Preterist Bible commentary on Revelation 14, the reader will be exposed to startling historical evidence of the fulfillment Revelation 14 during the Jewish War. By the. Then I looked. As mentioned in the comments on this verse in chapter 1, the passages had reference to the destruction of Jerusalem and the mourning of all Jewish tribes and families all over the world, because of that calamity which had befallen their city and their state in the destruction and desolation of Jerusalem. The word “crown” is the victor’s crown. Since the sickle is sharp the reaper can do His work swiftly and completely. The angel and the vintage of God's wrath, Revelation 14:17-20 4. Revelation 4:4, but the angels never appear arrayed in crowns), the sharp sickle as the symbol of his judicial power toward the enemies of his church,—and what has been urged against Christ as the subject cannot stand examination. The whole address in Joel 3:13 is directed to the mighty ones, the angels, with the angel of the Lord at their head. We see a two-part harvest. it must be he also, who appears with the sharp harvest-sickle. He had in his hand a sharp sickle --the symbol of reaping. There is now a change in status. He is what God intended man to be. Revelation 14:14 Context. In chapter 7 this same group of 144,000 received the seal of God in their foreheads. It admits of no doubt that the passage in Joel 3:13 is the text which forms the foundation of this whole section, and that consequently the application of the image there furnishes the key for the one made here. (4) The harvest of grain and vintage--14:14-20. The cloud symbolizes, John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament, Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament, Johann Albrecht Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament, Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible, Alexander MacLaren's Expositions of Holy Scripture, Foy E. Wallace's Commentary on the Book of Revelation, Schaff's Popular Commentary on the New Testament, George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary, Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged, Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, E.M. Zerr's Commentary on Selected Books of the New Testament, Hanserd Knollys' Commentary on Revelation, Ernst Hengstenberg on John, Revelation, Ecclesiastes, Ezekiel & Psalms. 14. — "On the cloud one sitting like (the) Son of Man." He Who previously came to save is now here to judge (compare John 3:17; John 12:47 and contrast John 5:27). Because the central idea is to describe the last judgement from God. Last occ of this title. {*See remarks on Revelation 1:13.} But the crown of gold is also the expression of divine righteousness in victorious action. The harvest and the vintage are the familiar figures employed to express God's closing dealings. See Psalms 8:4. The bringing home of the righteous is never represented in any other part of Scripture by the image of the harvest, and here also it is quite unsuitable to the connection. White cloud ... one like to a son of man ... and upon the cloud one sat like unto the son of man, stephanon},” “garland” of victory; not His, The Final Judgment of the Earth Dwellers Portrayed (. But the marks of Christ are too plain—the form of a Son of man (a word which, from the original passage in Daniel, has been, as it were, set apart for Christ), the sitting on the cloud, the golden crown (the elders might fitly bear a crown, ch. What is first seen is a white cloud, the cloud upon which Jesus is elsewhere represented as coming in order to wind up the history of the world (Matthew 24:30; Matthew 26:64). Apostate Israel will enter, “Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. 12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. —A nebulous image of “the great white throne” of. “Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. xxxvii.–lxxi. Once more we are at the scene of final judgment, as in Revelation 6:17; Revelation 11:15-18. As you probably know, apocalyptic literature must be interpreted apocalyptically. 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.”. Judicial judgment is about to sweep the guilty earth with the besom of destruction and clear it of evil. In a prophetical book like ours, it is from the first probable, that the prophetical use of the figure is the one that would be adopted. Revelation 1:1. 14. — "A white cloud" is peculiar to this action, so also is the white throne in the judgment of the dead (Revelation 20:11). The International Critical Commentary… With these essential considerations in mind, the latter part of this chapter may be epitomized as follows: 1. Then, it signifies "the end of the world," the final decision on the fates of the righteous and the wicked, when both parties shall be gathered to their proper portion, and housed, as it were, in their own dwelling (Matthew 13:30, Matthew 13:39; Mark 4:29). Thus He is uniquely in a position to judge mankind. He wears a crown of gold, not thorns. 14 I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man[ a] with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Revelation 15. (For a detailed discussion of the 144,000, see commentary on Rev 5:9-10; 7:2-10) The mention of the cloud also points to a work of judgment; wherever Christ appears on a cloud the work immediately in hand is always a judgment. Revelation 6:2): He now returns as a conqueror. He alone is called by that title in Revelation--and in one other place only, in the vision of the golden candlesticks of chapter 1:13. Revelation 14. However, the Battle of Armageddon is the war to end all wars. Rev. We come again to the Final Judgment. Revelation 7:2, Revelation 10:1, Revelation 18:1, Revelation 20:1. Happy are they who make the right use of these divine messages! Revelation 14:14-20. But the proper fundamental passage is Daniel 7:13, "Behold upon the clouds of heaven came one, like a Son of man.". Revelation 14 The Lamb and the 144,000 people. This cry was simply an indication to the angel representing the Son that the harvest was ripe. But the same thing occurs in the Apocalypse as in the Gospel of John, where "the activity of the Son always takes its impulse from that of the Father, and treads in its footsteps" (Koestlin, p. 97), where Christ says in John 5:30, "I can do nothing of myself, as I hear, so I judge," and in John 5:19," Verily, verily, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do; for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise;" and where, in John 5:27, the power of Christ to execute judgment is referred back to the Father. (1-3) The Lamb and the 144,000 on Mount Zion. 1 Then I looked again and I saw the Lamb.He was standing on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. Security and *salvation. Back To The Future – Sermon #37 . Daniel 7:13. Without doubt the Seer beheld in vision the Son of Man, but in the absence of the article it is what morally characterises Him that is prominent. Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. we may understand the means and instruments that our Lord Jesus Christ will use to cut down mystery Babylon, the beast, the false prophet, the great whore, and the whole Roman papal kingdom. Especially is this true of the work to be performed at his second coming. 14. — "Upon His head a golden crown," the sign of royal dignity (Revelation 4:4; Revelation 6:2). See Matthew 8:20 and App-98. Flying - Going on swiftly. The passage in Matthew 24:1-51 states that "all the tribes of the earth shall mourn," which is parallel with Revelation 1:7 :: "Behold, he cometh with the clouds; and every eye shall see him: and all the tribes of the earth shall wail (mourn) because of him." His judgment is clean and sure. "To bear in the hand a sharp sickle, means to be ready and prepared for the execution of a frightful judgment of God against the enemies of the church." There will be a blood bath in the suburbs of Jerusalem that flows throughout the length of Israel. Ezekiel 2:1. Revelation 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. To the redeemed He was the slain Lamb, slain for them. on ch. He sits on the cloud. Revelation 14:14, ESV: "Then 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." And He that sat on the cloud put His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped." They reject their own Scriptures. The cloud symbolises the divine presence(Revelation 10:1; Matthew 17:5; Ezekiel 10:4), "white" the purity and absolute righteousness characterising and governing the action. 13.). and 4 Esd. The one sitting on the white cloud had come to reap the harvest of the earth--meaning Jerusalem and Judea. "Like (the) Son of Man." 14. The 7 *seals: Revelation 6:1-8:1: The first 6 *seals. For there, too, the Son of man appears as presiding in the judgment, while the angels are only his servants. 14.And I looked, and behold—A fresh movement of the panorama reveals a new wonder in the sky. The name, too, of the Son of man points in the same direction, as it is chiefly used, according to the fundamental passage of Daniel, when Christ appears for judgment—comp. Each section in Revelation brings us up to this point. The ripeness of the harvest, the fulness of the vats, indicates the fulness of the guilt. Apocalyptic literature represents or explains something real/literal. On the expression, "get you down," comp. The special allusion to Joel is clear from this, that here, precisely as there, the harvest and the vintage are immediately connected with each other. Some commentators get mixed up here by paying too much attention to the various angels, who with regard to the judgment (all of them) are but the instruments of Christ ( Matthew 13:41,49 ) and are merely part of the scenery of the vision. And I saw, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud sat one, who was like a Son of man; he had a golden crown upon his head, and in his hand a sharp sickle. 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. (See Matthew 25:31; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; 2 Thessalonians 1:7.). Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 14:13 gives a blessing to saints who are faithful. So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped. The crown (omitted in Revelation 1:13 f.) was a familiar appurtenance of deity in Phrygia (e.g., of Apollo); for the cloud as the seat of deity, cf. 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. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Revelation of St. John, with Introduction, Notes, and Indices, also the Greek Text and English Translation. The title Son of Man represents true humanity as opposed to the wild beasts and its use by Jesus reveals both His true humanity and that He is the ideal man. His connection with the race and with the world in general is intimated in the title Son of Man, but in that very character He bearsthe attributes and moral glories of the Ancient of Days (compare Daniel 7:13 with verse 14 of our chapter, also withRevelation 1:13-14). John now sees Jesus seated on a white cloud with a golden victory crown upon his head. This is yet another occasion for judgment, the judgment of “the clusters of the vine.” Scriptures often use the vine as a figure for Israel (Isaiah 5; Psalm 80). Your email address will not be published. The first angel in the second group of three was “like a son of man.” The word “son” is anarthrous making the “son” indefinite, however, this angel probably represents what the Son of Man will do. The heavenly preparation for the final judgments, Revelation 15:1-16:1 i. Like unto the Son of man— The expression implies, not doubt of the identity, but the visionary aspect of the object to the eye. 14. 1, 14). The whole description is very similar to Daniel"s prophecy of Messiah"s second coming ( Daniel 7:13-14). Like to the Son of man. By the description of his appearance satisfaction is done to the identity of nature, which is brought out with equal distinctness in the Apocalypse and in the Gospel. Joel 3:12-14 and Mark 4:26-29.). True Israel will flee to the wilderness. As Son of Man He comes and claims universal dominion. To the *church in Laodicea. Revelation 1:7). He went out to conquer (chap. Revelation 9:7, Revelation 6:2. Revelation 14:14-20. Israel is full of atheism today. It only indicates that an angel will signal God"s proper time for judging, and then the Son will proceed to judge. The former is discriminating judgment, the latter unsparing wrath. That passage, however, does not exclude Christ from sitting on the cloud, but rather implies it. Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary 14:14-20 Warnings and judgments not having produced reformation, the sins of the nations are filled up, and they become ripe for judgments, represented by a harvest, an emblem which is used to signify the gathering … This royal, judicial figure is evidently the messiah (drawn from Daniel 7:13, which had been already inter preted thus in En. Hanserd Knollys' Commentary on Revelation. — The expression implies, not doubt of the identity, but the visionary aspect of the object to the eye. Revelation 14:14, KJV : "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." It has been already stated that the chapter now under consideration divides itself into seven parts, the first three introducing to us three angels (Revelation 14:1-13), the last three doing the same (Revelation 14:17-20). Revelation 14:14–20 » View this passage in NIV (Bible Gateway) I have heard the story told of Queen Victoria who at her coronation ceremony began to weep and took off her royal crown of England. By the harvest a great multitude of the righteous, by the vintage a great multitude of the wicked are taken from this world." This is the time when armies of the world swarm over Israel. Chapter 14. They are both instruments swung by hand in the mowing of ripened grain. Thus what we see here in the beginning of this chapter is a revelation of the complete Church in Christ. And in Jeremiah 51:33, where it is said of Babylon, "Yet a little while, and the time of her harvest comes." "And I looked" (Gr. And another Angel, desiring of him to do justice, by putting in his sickle, because the harvest of the earth was ripe, dry, and withered; i.e. The time of judgment is here. The day of vengeance has come. The patience of the saints, and the blessedness of them who die in the Lord, Revelation 14:12, Revelation 14:13. ‘And I saw and behold a white cloud, and on the cloud one sitting like a son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.’. The man on the white cloud, with a sickle, reaping the earth, Revelation 14:14-16 . Daniel 7:13-14). The article would make it definite and personal. The Son of man had in his hand a golden crown--the symbol of the highest royalty, identifying him as the King of heaven, above all potentates of the earth, the King of kings, and Lord of lords. There are two events. Upon this cloud is seen one sitting like unto a Son of man, a description which can leave no doubt upon the mind that it is the Lord (comp. Jesus will ultimately triumph over the forces of this world. This is the time when armies of the world swarm over Israel. In this way, they force the juice out. Clouds are often used as symbols of glory and power especially white clouds. The idea of parable is also healthy and may not be practical in to to. Revelation 7:1-17. It is not the execution of judgment either moral (Hebrews 4:12) or physical(Revelation 19:15), else a sword would have been named.But the sickle is needed to reap the harvest. Indulging here in repetition, it is necessary to keep in perspective the fact that this fourteenth chapter is a prolepsis--an interposition between the parts of the apocalypse, relating events out of sequence, on the order of reading the last chapter of a novel first to see how the story ends. At the end of Revelation 13, it almost seemed like Satan and the Antichrist might win. { Joel 3:13; Jeremiah 51:33}. The remainder of this chapter presents the judgment of the Son of Man. 14 I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man[ a] with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. The crown is everywhere in the Revelation the sign of royal dignity, of dominion—comp. As before repeated, the earth in Revelation imagery referred to the land of which Jerusalem was the center--Judea and all of Palestine, the scene of these visions of the persecuted church. white cloud (upon which one sat like the Son of man), we may understand a glorious appearance of Jesus Christ. Commentary on Revelation 14:14-20 (Read Revelation 14:14-20 ) Warnings and judgments not having produced reformation, the sins of the nations are filled up, and they become ripe for judgments, represented by a harvest, an emblem which is used to signify the gathering of the righteous, when ripe for heaven, by the mercy of God. See. on the clouds, with which, or attended by which the Lord comes, as a shadow of the judgment at ch. Your email address will not be published. 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. After an account of the great trials and sufferings which the servants of God had endured, we have now a more pleasant scene opening; the day begins now to dawn, and here we have represented, I. Revelation 14:8,9These three denote great messengers of God with their assistants; three men who bring messages from God to men. "Son of Man" is a messianic title of Jesus Christ in Scripture (cf. In Luke 21:27, and Matthew 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, with power and great glory," this latter expression, "with power and great glory," corresponds to the white cloud in the passage before us. We see a two-part harvest. Whoever overcomes will sit down with Jesus on His throne. This is ‘the Son of Man coming on the clouds of Heaven with power and great glory’ (Matthew 24:30; Matthew 16:27; Matthew 25:31; Mark 8:38; Mark 13:26; Luke 9:26; Luke 21:27). The sickle was a harvesting implement comparable to the scythe of our time, which was unknown in scripture language. Another angel comes with another ominous announcement. It is urged that Christ cannot receive a command from an angel (more correctly, through an angel). The crowns upon the heads of the locusts were "like gold" (Revelation 9:7). White cloud—A nebulous image of “the great white throne” of Revelation 20:11. Note the stress on the sharpness of the sickle. Revelation 14:12-16. The like is again represented by the sickle, which is said to be put to the clusters of the vineyard: and they were cast into the great wine-press, or lake of the wrath of God, into hell, where the blood is said to come out even up to the horses' bridles, for a thousand and six hundred furlongs: a metaphorical way of expressing the exceeding great torments of the wicked in hell. To report dead links, typos, or html errors or suggestions about making these resources more useful use the convenient, Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament, Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, And upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man -, drepanon- means a crooked knife or scythe for gathering the harvest, or vintage, by cutting off the clusters of grapes. He has the right to this harvest. .—Better, And I saw, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one seated like to a son of man, having upon his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. Many expositors have supposed that it is not Christ who appears on the cloud, but an ordinary angel. He himself had given (this to) his disciples in Matthew 13, in the parable of the wheat and the weeds (Matthew 13:24-30, 13:36-43).