I looked, and saw 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. Another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Send your sickle, and reap; for the hour to reap has come; for the harvest of the earth is ripe!” He who sat on the cloud thrust his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.
Parallel Translations
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I looked, and saw 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.
Another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Send your sickle, and reap; for the hour to reap has come; for the harvest of the earth is ripe!”
He who sat on the cloud thrust his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.
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And I loked and beholde a whyte clowde and apon the clowde one syttynge lyke vnto the sonne of man havynge on his heed a golde crowne and in his honde a sharpe sykle.
And another angell came oute of the temple cryinge with a lowde voyce to him that sate on the clowde. Thruste in thy sycle and repe: for the tyme is come to repe for the corne of the erth is rype.
And he that sate on the clowde thrust in his sykle on the erth and the erth was reped.
Show all 3 translations
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And I looked, and behold, a white cloude, and vpon the cloude one sitting like vnto the Sonne of man, hauing on his head a golden crowne, and in his hand a sharpe sickle.
And another Angel came out of the Temple, crying with a loude voyce to him that sate on the cloude, Thrust in thy sickle and reape: for the time is come to reape: for the haruest of the earth is ripe.
And he that sate on the cloude, thrust in his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.
Cross-references (39)
- Joel 3:13 (v15) Put in the sickle; for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the wine press is full, the vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.”
- Mark 4:29 (vv14–15) But when the fruit is ripe, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
- Matthew 13:39 (v15) The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.
- Jeremiah 51:33 (v15) For Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel says: “The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time when it is trodden. Yet a…
- Daniel 7:13 (v14) “I saw in the night visions, and behold, there came with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man, and he came even to the ancient of…
Show all 36 cross-references
- Matthew 13:30 (vv14–15) Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First, gather up the darnel weeds, and bind…
- Revelation 14:18 (v15) Another angel came out from the altar, he who has power over fire, and he called with a great voice to him who had the sharp sickle,…
- Isaiah 19:1 (v14) The burden of Egypt. “Behold, Yahweh rides on a swift cloud, and comes to Egypt. The idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence; and the…
- Psalms 21:3 (v14) For you meet him with the blessings of goodness. You set a crown of fine gold on his head.
- Psalms 97:2 (v14) Clouds and darkness are around him. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
- Matthew 16:27 (v16) For the Son of Man will come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will render to everyone according to his deeds.
- Matthew 17:5 (v14) While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. Behold, a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved…
- Luke 21:27 (v14) Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
- Hebrews 2:9 (v14) But we see him who has been made a little lower than the angels, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor,…
- Revelation 1:13 (v14) And among the lamp stands was one like a son of man, clothed with a robe reaching down to his feet, and with a golden sash around his chest.
- Revelation 14:14 (vv15–16) I looked, and saw 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…
- Ezekiel 1:26 (v14) Above the expanse that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone. On the likeness of the…
- Matthew 23:32 (v15) Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:16 (v15) forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, to fill up their sins always. But wrath has come on them to the uttermost.
- Revelation 1:7 (v14) Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, including those who pierced him. All the tribes of the earth will mourn…
- Revelation 6:2 (v14) And behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow. A crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.
- Revelation 14:15-17 (v14) Another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Send your sickle, and reap; for the hour to…
- Revelation 14:19 (v16) The angel thrust his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vintage of the earth, and threw it into the great wine press of the wrath of…
- Revelation 16:17 (v15) The seventh poured out his bowl into the air. A loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!”
- Joel 3:12-13 (v14) “Let the nations arouse themselves, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.…
- Revelation 6:10 (v15) They cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, Master, the holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the…
- Revelation 10:1 (v14) I saw a mighty angel coming down out of the sky, clothed with a cloud. A rainbow was on his head. His face was like the sun, and his feet…
- Revelation 11:17 (v14) saying: “We give you thanks, Lord God, the Almighty, the one who is and who was; because you have taken your great power and reigned.
- Revelation 15:6 (v15) The seven angels who had the seven plagues came out, clothed with pure, bright linen, and wearing golden sashes around their breasts.
- Revelation 16:1-21 (v16) I heard a loud voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God on the earth!” The…
- Revelation 19:12 (v14) His eyes are a flame of fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has names written and a name written which no one knows but he himself.
- Revelation 20:11 (v14) I saw a great white throne, and him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. There was found no place for them.
- Isaiah 62:1 (v15) For Zion’s sake I will not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her righteousness shines out like the dawn, and…
- Zechariah 5:6-11 (v15) I said, “What is it?” He said, “This is the ephah basket that is appearing.” He said moreover, “This is their appearance in all the land…
- John 5:22-23 (v16) For the Father judges no one, but he has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who…
- Revelation 13:12 (v15) He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. He makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast,…
36 distinct cross-references across this passage (39 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (20 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv14–15 The second part of this Chapter, as I said,…
The second part of this Chapter, as I said, verse 1. Of the acts and doings of Christ in overthrowing of Antichrist and his Church by the Spirit of his divine mouth: seeing that having been called back by word both publicly and privately unto his duty, and admonished of his most certain ruin: he yet ceaseth not to maintain and protect his own adherents, that they may do him service: and to afflict the godly with most barbarous persecutions. Of those things which Christ doeth, there are two kinds: one common or general in the rest of this chapter, another particular against that savage and rebellious beast and his worshippers in chapters 15 and 16. That common kind, is the calamity of wars spread abroad through the whole earth, and filling all things with blood, and that without respect of any person. This is figured or shadowed out in two types, of the harvest and vintage. Since the time that the light of the Gospel began to shine out, and since prophecy or preaching by the grace of God was raised up again, how horrible wars have been kindled in the world? how much human flesh hath been thrown to the earth by this divine reaping? how much blood (alas for woe) hath overflown for these hundred years almost? all history do cry out, and this our age (if ever before) is now in horror, by reason of the rage of the sickle which Antichrist calleth for. In this place is the first type, that is of the harvest.
Declaring his fierceness by his color, like unto that which is in the white or milk circle of heaven.
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That is, a most fit and commodious instrument of Execution, destroyed all by hewing and thrusting through, for who may stand against God?
As one that shall reign from God, and occupy place of Christ in this miserable execution.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv14–16 14 And I looked, and behold a white cloud,…
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.
Ver. 14. A sharp sickle] An instrument to cut down grain, Deu 16:9, and the bunches and branches of the grapes, Isa 18:5. It betokens sharp and sudden vengeance. What more beautiful to behold than the field before harvest, than the vineyard before the vintage, &c.? This is spoken for the consolation of the persecuted people of God.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv14–16 The description here can agree to none but Christ,…
The description here can agree to none but Christ, sitting, as it were, upon clouds, and coming out in his judicial dispensations of providence, to execute judgment upon his enemies, to which purpose he is said to have
in his hand a sharp sickle.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On vv14–16 In these verses a description is given of Christ…
In these verses a description is given of Christ as coming to judgment, to inflict punishment upon his stubborn enemies; and here we have the judge described,
1.By his form or shape, he was one like the Son of man.
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2. By his place and posture of judgment, sitting on a white cloud, the cloud denoting the sovereignty of the judge, and whiteness prefiguring the uprightness of his proceedings, and both signifying his speed and swiftness in coming to execute judgment; on this white cloud did he sit, denoting thereby both his composedness and freedom from all passion and perturbation as a judge, and also his majesty and authority, sitting as a king upon his throne, as well as like a judge upon his tribunal.
3. He is described by his royal ornament, having on his head a golden crown. Behold here the different estate of our Lord Jesus Christ above, from what it was here below; here crowned with thorns, there crowned with gold, the reward of his sufferings! Blessed be God, that as it was with the Head, so shall it be with all the members!
4. By the instrument which he had in his hand fit for the work which he had in his hand, namely, a sharp sickle for the reaping of the earth. A sickle is a circular instrument, and compasseth the corn round about, which is to be cut down; the judgment of Christ upon the wicked will inclose them all, not a soul of them whall be able to escape it; and a sharp sickle signifies the quality of his judgment, that it will be severe. Behold here the unavoidable destruction of the wicked, and how impossible it is for them to escape the judgments of Christ; all the wicked together are no more in the hand of Christ than as an handful of grass, or ripe corn, to a sharp sickle in a strong hand.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv14–16 And I looked, and behold a white cloud,.... In…
And I looked, and behold a white cloud,.... In this verse is a description of the person principally concerned in the harvest of the earth, hereafter mentioned; by whom is designed not some great potentate or prince, an encourager of the Reformation among his subjects; nor an angel in an human shape; nor Martin Luther, as others; but the Lord Jesus Christ himself, who is described by his form, and by his seat, and by what he had on his head, and in his hand:
and upon the cloud one sat like unto the son of man; so Christ is said to be, Rev 1:13 and in Dan 7:13 where there is a like vision of him as here, and which refers to the same time; it is a name by which the Messiah is often called, and is expressive of the truth of his human nature, who was found in fashion as a man, and was really one; for his being like to the son of man designs reality and truth, and not mere appearance; see Mat 14:5 and besides, as this was in vision, it is very properly expressed, for Christ appeared to John in vision like to that human nature in which he is at the right hand of God: and here he is seen "sitting" upon the "white cloud"; which shows that he was come to judgment in the clouds of heaven, and was set on one of them, as on a throne; and a white cloud represents the purity, uprightness, and justness of his proceedings in judgment; for which reason he is said to be on a white throne, Rev 20:11
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having on his head a golden crown; as an ensign of royal majesty, showing that his kingdom was now come, the time for him to reign personally with his saints on earth a thousand years; and that it was a very glorious one; and that he should now reign before his ancients gloriously; and that it was pure, solid, and durable; see Psa 21:4
and in his hand a sharp sickle: to reap the earth with, as hereafter, and is expressive of his power as King of saints and Judge of the world, to gather all nations before him; for the sickle is used to gather with, as well as to cut down.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv14–16 In the following verses, under the emblem of an…
In the following verses, under the emblem of an harvest and a vintage, are signified two general visitations; first, many good men are taken from the earth by the harvest; then many sinners during the vintage. The latter is altogether a penal visitation; the former seems to be altogether gracious. Here is no reference in either to the day of judgment, but to a season which cannot be far off. And I saw a white cloud - An emblem of mercy. And on the cloud sat one like a son of man - An angel in an human shape, sent by Christ, the Lord both of the vintage and of the harvest. Having a golden crown on his head - In token of his high dignity. And a sharp sickle in his hand - The sharper the welcomer to the righteous.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv14–16 Verse 14. A white cloud] It is supposed that,…
Verse 14. A white cloud] It is supposed that, from this verse to the end of the chapter, the destruction of Rome is represented under the symbols of harvest and vintage; images very frequent among the ancient prophets, by which they represented the destruction and excision of nations. See Joe 3:12-14; Isa 17:5; Isa 63:1; and Mt 13:37.
A golden crown] In token of victory and regal power.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v14 Rev 14:14-16. And I looked, and behold a white…
Rev 14:14-16. And I looked, and behold a white cloud — An emblem of the equity and holiness, as also of the victory of him that sat upon it, over all adverse power; and upon the cloud one like unto the Son of man — By the majesty of his form, as represented in Daniel; having on his head a golden crown — Signifying his high dignity, his extraordinary authority and power; and a sharp sickle in his hand — As if going forth to reap some remarkable harvest. And another angel came out of the temple — Which is in heaven, (Rev 14:17,) out of which came the judgments of God in the proper seasons; crying, by the command of God, with a loud voice, Thrust in thy sickle and reap, for the time is come, &c. — Namely, the appointed time of judgment, for which the world is ripe; the voices of the three warning angels, spoken of from Rev 14:6-11, not having their due effect, it is here predicted that the judgments of God would overtake the followers and adherents of the beast, which judgments are represented in this paragraph under the figures of harvest and vintage, figures not unusual in the prophets, and copied particularly from the Prophet Joel, who denounced God’s judgments against the enemies of his people in the like terms, Joe 3:13, saying, Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; come, get you down, for the press is full, the fats overflow for their wickedness is great.
“Having passed,” says Mr. Faber, “the epoch of the Reformation, we now advance into the times of God’s last judgments upon his enemies, the days of the third wo-trumpet. Two remarkable periods of the most conspicuous of these judgments (the several steps of the whole of which are afterward described under seven vials) are here arranged under the two grand divisions figuratively styled the harvest and the vintage. In the days of Bishop Newton the third wo-trumpet had not begun to sound. Hence his lordship justly observed, ‘What particular events are signified by this harvest and vintage, it appears impossible for any man to determine; time alone can with certainty discover, for these things are yet in futurity. Only it may be observed, that these two signal judgments will as certainly come, as harvest and vintage succeed in their season; and in the course of providence the one will precede the other, as in the course of nature the harvest is before the vintage; and the latter will greatly surpass the former, and be attended with a most terrible destruction of God’s enemies.’ But although both these signal judgments were future when Bishop Newton wrote, it has been our lot to hear the voice of the third wo, and to behold in the French revolution the dreadful scenes of the harvest. Still, however, a more dreadful prospect extends before us. The days of the vintage are yet future; for the time hath not yet arrived when the great controversy of God with the nations shall be carried on between the two seas, in the neighbourhood of the glorious holy mountain, in the blood-stained vale of Megiddo, in the land whose space extends one thousand six hundred furlongs.” Mr. Faber, therefore, considers the harvest and the vintage here as predicting “two tremendous manifestations of God’s wrath, two seasons of peculiar misery;” and that the apostle gives here only a general intimation of these, reserving a more particular account of them for future consideration under the pouring out of the seven vials, which are all comprehended under the third wo, and which he divides into three classes; the vials of the harvest, the intermediate vials, and the vials of the vintage. — Dissertation on the Prophecies, vol. 2. pages 378 and 382, edition 1810. Whether and how far these views of Mr. Faber appear to be just and consistent with the general tenor of this latter part of the prophecy, we shall be better able to judge when we come to consider the contents of the two next chapters.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv14–16 And I looked - See the notes on Rev…
And I looked - See the notes on Rev 14:1. His attention is arrested by a new vision. The Son of man himself comes forth to close the scene, and to wind up the affairs of the world. This, too, is of the nature of an episode, and the design is the same as the previous visions - to support the mind in the prospect of the trials that the church was to experience, by the assurance that it would be finally triumphant, and that every enemy would be destroyed.
And behold a white cloud - Bright, splendid, dazzling - appropriate to be the seat of the Son of God. Compare the Mat 17:5 note; Rev 1:7 note. See also Mat 24:30; Mat 26:64; Luk 20:27; Act 1:9; 1Th 4:17; Rev 10:1.
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And upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man - Compare the Rev 1:13 note; Dan 7:13 note. It is probable that there is here a designed reference to the passage in Daniel. The meaning is, that one appeared on the cloud in a human form, whom John at once recognized as he to whom the appellation of “the Son of man” especially belonged - the Lord Jesus. The meaning of that term had not been fixed in the time of Dan 7:13; subsequently it was appropriated by the Saviour, and was the favorite term by which he chose to speak of himself, Mat 8:20; Mat 9:6; Mat 10:23; Mat 11:19; Mat 12:8, Mat 12:32, Mat 12:40, et al.
Having on his head a golden crown - Appropriate to him as king. It was mainly in virtue of his kingly power and office that the work was to be done which John is now about to describe.
And in his hand a sharp sickle - The word “sickle” here - δρέπανον drepanon - means a crooked knife or scythe for gathering the harvest, or vintage, by cutting off the clusters of grapes. See Rev 14:17. The image of a harvest is often employed in the New Testament to describe moral subjects, Mat 9:37-38; Mat 13:30, Mat 13:39; Mar 4:29; Luk 10:2; Joh 4:35. Here the reference is to the consummation of all things, when the great harvest of the world will be reaped, and when all the enemies of the church will be cut off - for that is the grand idea which is kept before the mind in this chapter. In various forms, and by various images, that idea had already been presented to the mind, but here it is introduced in a grand closing image; as if the grain of the harvest-field were gathered in - illustrating the reception of the righteous into the kingdom - and the fruit of the vineyard were thrown into the wine-press, representing the manner in which the wicked would be crushed, Rev 14:19-20.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v14 Like to the Son of man. That is, to…
Like to the Son of man. That is, to our Saviour Christ, sitting on a white cloud, with a crown of gold, and in his hand a sharp sickle. 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 wicked, ripe for punishment. 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. But to pretend from hence to give the just dimensions of hell, is a groundless conjecture; of which see Cornelius a Lapide. (Witham)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv14–16 crown--Greek, "stephanon," "garland" of victory; not His diadem as…
crown--Greek, "stephanon," "garland" of victory; not His diadem as a king. The victory is described in detail, Rev 19:11-21.
one sat--"one sitting," Greek, "cathemenon homoion," is the reading of A, B, C, Vulgate, and Coptic.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv14–15 c. Sky-Vision (Over Jerusalem) Of The Harvest And Bloody…
c. Sky-Vision (Over Jerusalem) Of The Harvest And Bloody Vintage Of Babylon, Rev_14:14-20.
So far the menaces against Babylon have been verbal; our seer now, standing on Moriah, beholds two visible tokens of coming doom hung out in the heavens over Jerusalem. First, a dim likeness of the Lord of the harvest is descried in the sky, visiting his ripening and drying field; and a servant angel reports to him that all is ready. The work is, in vision, summarily executed.
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14. And I looked, and behold—A fresh movement of the panorama reveals a new wonder in the sky.
White cloud—A nebulous image of “the great white throne” of Rev_20:11.
Like unto the Son of man— The expression implies, not doubt of the identity, but the visionary aspect of the object to the eye.
A golden crown—The token of his lordship over the land.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv14–16 14. I looked] Better, beheld, as Rev_4:1, &c.
14. I looked] Better, beheld, as Rev_4:1, &c.
one sat] More literally, [I saw] One sitting. It is scarcely possible to doubt that a vision of the Last Judgement is here interposed, to encourage “the patience of the Saints” that is to be so sorely tried. No one would have doubted that “One like unto the Son of Man” is the same Person as in Rev_1:13, and that His coming with the clouds of heaven indicates the same as in Rev_1:7, except from a desire to interpret the whole series of visions continuously, as fulfilled in chronological order. Now it is probably right to regard the order of the visions as always significant, and generally answering to the chronological order of fulfilment. But exceptions to the latter rule must be admitted: Rev_11:7 plainly refers to the same events as chap. 13, while chap. 12 goes back to events earlier than, probably, any others indicated in the Book. In this chapter itself, we have in Rev_14:8 an anticipation of chap. 18: we need not therefore hesitate to suppose that here we have an anticipation of chap. 20. Those who wish to make the order of visions strictly continuous put on the words “one like unto the [or “a”—see on Rev_1:13] Son of Man” the gloss “an Angel in the likeness of the Messiah,” and suppose that one of God’s typical or anticipatory judgements is described in terms suitable to the last.
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a sharp sickle] The image of the harvest, combined with that of the vintage, is from Joe_3:13 : see however also St Mat_13:30 &c.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv14–15 (14) And I looked . . .—Better, And I…
THE HARVEST.
(14) And I looked . . .—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. There can be little doubt that Christ Himself is here intended: the “cloud” (Mat_24:30; Act_1:9), the expression “Son of man” (comp. Joh_5:27 and Dan_7:13), the “crown,” the general resemblance to the vision in Revelation 1 (see Rev_1:7-13), indicate as much. The “crown” is the crown of victory; the hour of conquest is at hand. The sickle shows that the harvest has come. (Comp. Joe_3:12-14 and Mar_4:26-29.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv14–16 And I looked, and behold a white cloud; and…
And I looked, and behold a white cloud; and I saw, introducing a fresh phase of the vision (see on ver. 1, etc.). White; the heavenly colour. (see on Rev_3:18, etc.) Cloud is the symbol of Christ"s glory. (Act_1:9, Act_1:11; cf. Mat_24:30, "And they shall see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven;" also Rev_1:7, "Behold, he cometh with the clouds And upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man; one sitting. That Christ is here intended is shown by
(1) the cloud; (cf. Luk_21:27, "They shall see the Son of man coming in a cloud
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(2) the expression, "Son of man"; (cf. Joh_5:22, "For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son;" and Joh_5:27, "And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man;" and Act_17:31, "He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom he hath ordained
(3) the white colour; (cf. Rev_6:2)
(4) the golden crown, which distinguishes him from the other appearances. He who, as Man, redeemed the world, comes as Man to judge the world. He sits, because he comes in judgment. Having on his head a golden crown. The crown, of victory, stefanov , which he gained as Man. (cf. Rev_6:2, where the description is similar) And in his hand a sharp sickle. With which the "Lord of the harvest" (Mat_9:38) reaps the harvest of the world. The figure is found in also Joe_3:12, Joe_3:13, "Then will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe". (cf. also Joh_4:35-38)
Vers. 14-20. Harvest time.
Any attempt to interpret the visions of this book as if they followed each other chronologically only, will inevitably fail. Sometimes, at any rate, the visions are such that they overleap the near future and glance forward to one far more remote. In fact, speaking generally, the order of them is far more moral than it is temporal, following not so much the order of years as the evolution of principles and the growth of souls. It certainly is so in the paragraph before us, in which we are carried forward in thought and symbol to Heaven"s great harvest day a day of which our Lord had himself spoken, not only in a parable, but in an exposition of that parable, (Mt 13) in which terms that were figurative and symbolic are exchanged for such as are plain. It will be a study of no small interest to see how our Lord, in his communication to his apostle from heaven, sets forth the same truth which he had taught to his disciples when on earth. Ver. 14, "I saw, and behold, a white cloud." This is the symbol of the Divine presence, so that we are not surprised when we read further, "On the cloud I saw one sitting like unto the Son of man emblem of the Lord appearing in his glory on his head a golden crown in token of royalty in his hand a sharp sickle setting forth the work for which he will come in his glory, viz. to reap "the harvest of the earth." Ver. 15, "Another angel... crying... Send forth," etc. That this angel came forth out of the temple speaks his authority as from thence. Nor should it seem strange that thence should come the commission to the Son of man to reap. For as the Son of man, our Lord has his authority and appointment from the Father. (Joh_5:22, Joh_5:26, Joh_5:27) Ver. 16, "He... cast his sickle upon the earth." The final reaping is under the superintendence of the Son of man. Ver. 17, "Another angel... he also having a sharp sickle." The ministry of angels will be employed by our Lord in gathering in the harvest. (Mt 13) Ver. 18, "Another... he that hath power over fire." Each of our Lord"s host has his own department of service. "Her grapes are fully ripe have reached the acme of ripeness, their full growth. Ver. 19, "The angel... gathered the vintage of the earth." As believers are branches in Christ, the living Vine, bringing forth good fruit, and only good, so there shall be an earthly product, a mimicry of the heavenly, bringing forth bad fruit, and only bad. "And cast it into the wine press... of the wrath of God." A striking figure drawn from the Old Testament. (see Isa_63:1-6) As there, so here, the treading of grapes in the wine press represents the defeat of the foes of God and of his Church. Ver. 20, "Without the city." The Church is the city of God. All the wicked are outside of it. "There came out blood from the wine press". (cf. Gen_49:11 Deu_32:14) The sap of the grape is called the blood of the grape, as being the element of its life. In an actual material conflict actual blood would he shed. Here the whole of the reality is in the spiritual realm, though the figures are drawn from the material. The main, yea, the sole thought is the defeat of the enemies of God. "Blood... even unto the bridles of the horses." It is said in Rev_19:14, "The armies which were in heaven followed upon white horses," etc. The hosts of God ever have, ever do, ever will, join him in trampling down the foes of righteousness. And it is but the carrying out the figure when the chapter speaks of the blood coming up to the bridles of the horses. "As far as sixteen hundred furlongs." Hengstenberg understands this as equivalent to "a judgment encircling the whole earth." What can we learn in so obscure a vision? We reply The vision is not an obscure one, if we let Scripture be its own interpreter. There are at least six lines of high and holy thought, which, on the basis of it, may be profitably followed up.
I LONG, LONG BEFORE THE END COMETH, THE SPIRIT OF GOD HAS TOLD US WHAT IT WILL BE. We gather not only from other Scriptures, but from the fact that our Lord spoke in parables when on earth, and thus set forth truth in parable when he spake from heaven, that there is an analogue between the earthly and the spiritual kingdoms. As in the natural world there are tendencies ever at work which move forwards towards development and completion, so is it in the Spiritual. "First the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear." So is the kingdom of God. And because the great Creator perfectly understands the tendencies of today, he can with entire certainty forecast the issues of the last day. In fact, the foreknowledge of God is an infinite power of the calculation of chances. As he knows perfectly the meaning of what is today, he clearly sees what will be on any given day. And in his fellowship with men, he has taught them to write the main feature of the end, viz. the harvest time of seed already in the ground, whether good or bad.
II IT IS A MANIFEST FACT THAT THERE ARE ON EARTH AT THIS MOMENT MEN IN THE TWO WIDELY DIFFERENT CLASSES OF GOOD AND EVIL. No one can deny this unless he ignores plain facts before every one"s eyes. There are men who are stainless in their sanctity. There are others who are fiendish in their vileness. And it is not in reference to such widely contrasted lives that men find so much difficulty. Many years ago, an Oxford professor remarked that there were some who had never known anything about repentance towards God or faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ, and who yet therefore could not be classed among the wheat, yet they were externally so moral and irreproachable they could not be classed among the tares! What was his conclusion? That there must be an intermediate class! There is another and a sounder conclusion. Our Lord declares there are two, and but two. But even if there are some that seem to us to come between, we dare not impeach the verdict of him who searcheth the hearts. The fact is, we can understand only issues. Christ can discern tendencies. He knows them now, and by their fruits we shall know them. Germs. Growth. Development. Manifestation.
III FOR WISE REASONS, NOT ALL OF WHICH ARE KNOWN TO US, BOTH GOOD AND EVIL ARE TO GROW TOGETHER SIDE BY SIDE. The good have to confront the evil and keep it in check. The evil is permitted to counterplot the good and to retard its spread. But we must not speak only in the abstract. Rather let us say, good men, evil men. For when we bring human nature, with all its powers of willing and combating, into the question, then we can at once see that at least one purpose is gained by this temporary comingling together. Good men are made better, sturdier, and braver for having a conflict to endure. And much of the evil is turned into good through the grace of God. Note: Do not let us fall into the millennarian heresy of supposing that the tares are going to increase prodigiously and the wheat to diminish, until the Lord comes. There is not one Scripture text for that. Scripture only says, both are to get riper the good, better; the bad, worse.
IV AT THE TIME FORESEEN BY GOD THIS "PROCESS WILL, ON BOTH SIDES, BE CONSUMMATED. Do we understand by this that in the spiritual world there comes a time when character cannot possibly advance further either in goodness or in wickedness? We do not so understand it. Analogy is not identity, but only resemblance with some difference. And because there is all the difference between natural growth and spiritual, we must not expect a resemblance on every point. But two points are certainly clear, and a third is possible.
1. A time will come in the development of character when all doubt ceases as to what a man is.
2. Then there can be no question whether his destiny is the garner or the fire.
3. It may be that then no such thing as a change of character is possible. Eternal punishment will only be in the case of eternal sin. (Mar_3:29, Revised Version)
V AT THIS STAGE THE GREAT REAPING TIME WILL COME. Then the commission to consummate all will be fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ. (Mat_13:41) The angels will be the reaper band. The result will be the complete manifestation the final division the great decision. The gathering in of the righteous into the kingdom. The trampling down the grapes in earth"s vineyard in the wine press of the wrath of God! Dread words! whose detail no pen of man can sketch; but that towards one end or the other every one is at this moment tending, is one of the most certain of the laws of human nature.
VI THIS DREAD VISION IS GIVEN US FOR HIGH AND HOLY PURPOSES.
1. It should relieve those whose faith and patience are now being so sorely tried by the growth of error and sin. Both are putting on riper forms than ever. Well, the end will come. "The fire will try every man"s work.
2. It should lead us all to estimate the value of this life. The end towards which we all are tending is one of ripeness, either in righteousness or sin.
3. It should lead each one to look solemnly at the fact that, however long it may be before the universal consummation will be,
(1) God will act then on the very same principles on which he worketh now.
(2) Now there are working in us tendencies which shall be developed then. The law of continuity holds in the Divine procedure. The law of growth in human character. Note: There may be in grace, what can never be in nature, the conversion of tares into wheat. If this is to be, it must be before the harvest day.
(3) The sickle may cut down individuals long before its final thrust.
Vers. 14-20. The harvest and the vintage.
It is held by many that both these refer to the same fact of God"s judgment against sin and sinners. And no doubt, at times, the "harvest," does mean such judgment. (cf. Joe_3:13 Jer_51:33) In Mt 13 both harvests that of good and evil alike are told of "Let both grow together until," etc. Still more commonly the figure stands for the people of God and their ingathering into his blessed presence. And we think that here, whilst there can be no doubt as to what the vintage means, the "harvest" does not mean the same, but that gathering of "the wheat into his garner" which shall one day most surely be accomplished. For see the preface (ver. 13) to this vision. It speaks of the blessed dead and their rest. And but for the plain pointing out that the vintage did not refer to them, that also would have been so understood. And the Lord Jesus Christ for he is meant is himself the Reaper (ver. 14), himself thrusts in the sickle (ver. 16), whilst the vintage of judgment is assigned to an angel (ver. 17), indicating that it is a different work from the other. And the figure itself, the harvest, the precious corn fully ripe, belongs generally and appropriately to that which is also precious and an object of delight, as is the company of his people to the Lord whose they are. It is not the time of the harvest, but the corn of the harvest, which is spoken of here, and this is ever the type of good, and not evil. Thus understood, let us note
I THE HARVEST. "The harvest of the earth." This tells of:
1. The multitude of God"s people. Who can count the ears of corn even in one harvest field? how much less in the harvest of the whole earth?
2. The preciousness of them. What do we not owe to, what could we do without, the literal harvest of the earth? Our all, humanly speaking, depends upon it.
3. The joy of God in them. Cf. "They shall joy before thee with the joy of harvest.
4. The care that has been needed and given.
5. The "long patience" that has been exercised. Who but God could be so patient? We often cry, "How long, O Lord, how long?" But he waits and we must learn the like lesson for the harvest of the earth, for that which is being ripened in our own soul. Harvest comes only so.
6. The evidence of ripeness. We know of the natural harvest that it is ripe by the grain assuming its golden hue. "Knowest thou what it is that gives that bright yellow tinge of maturity to that which erst was green and growing? What imparts that golden hue to the wheat? How do you suppose the husbandman judges when it is time to thrust in the sickle? I will tell you. All the time the corn was growing, those hollow stems served as ducts that drew up nourishment from the soil. At length the process of vegetation is fulfilled. The fibres of the plant become rigid; they cease their office; down below there has been a failure of the vital power, which is the precursor of death. Henceforth the heavenly powers work quick and marvellous changes: the sun paints his superscription on the ears of grain. They have reached the last stage; having fed on the riches of the soil long enough, they are now only influenced from above" (Spurgeon). And when it is thus with the people of God, when the golden light of the Sun of Righteousness shines on them and they are transformed thereby, then the evidence of ripeness is seen, and the season for the sickle has come.
7. God will certainly gather in his people. "Harvest shall not fail such was the primeval promise, and it has never failed; nor shall this harvest either. "Look up, lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
II THE VINTAGE. Under the altar on which was "the fire," over which the angel told of in ver. 18 "had power," were the souls of them that had been slain for the testimony of Jesus. (Rev_6:9) They had asked, "How long, O Lord,... dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?" And now the answer is given. The vintage of vengeance has begun. For the "grapes" of the "vine of the earth" are fully ripe. It is the judgment of the whole earth, when "all nations" shall be gathered (Matthew 25) before the Son of man. The square of four four ever the symbol of the earth amplified by hundreds, the "one thousand and six hundred furlongs" of ver. 20, likewise point to the universality of this awful judgment. Minor fulfilments presages, predictions, and patterns of the final judgment of these there have been many and will be many; but in this vintage of vengeance upon the world"s sin all are summed up and fulfilled. But will there be any such event at all? Will Christ "come again to judge the quick and the dead," as the Creed declares? or is it all a myth and imagination, a nightmare, which the sooner the world shakes off and awakes from the better? Many affirm that it is this; many more would like to think so. But what is the truth?
1. Men have ever felt that there ought to be such judgment. See in the Old Testament, m the Psalms, Job, in the prophets, what distress of soul God"s people were in, because they feared for the faith of a just God. So many wrongs were perpetrated, and no one called to account. Wicked men in great prosperity, "flourishing like a green bay tree," and all the while godly, innocent men trampled in the very dust by these wicked, well off ones. And many saints of God were heartbroken under the pressure of indubitable facts like these, asking for, and not finding any, redress. Men who were not saints, as they could not find any law of judgment, took the law into their own hands. And hence they added torture to death. For merely to kill a man was no punishment at all. Who would care for that? Death rids a man of all trouble. Make him suffer, therefore, whilst he is alive. So they thought and acted, and hence the whole system of tortures, from the imagery of which some of the most dread emblems of this book are drawn. But the tears of good men, in view of this problem of righteousness unrewarded and persecuted, whilst unrighteousness went not only unpunished, but held high festival; and the tortures inflicted by cruel men when they got a criminal into their hands; both are testimonies to the conviction that a Divine and perfect judgment ought to be.
2. And now it is declared that such judgment shall be. Conscience assents to it. What endorsements of God"s Word the guilty conscience gives. Read "Macbeth" for one illustration out of thousands more.
3. Human law and justice strive after right judgment. What consternation there is when some great criminal escapes and baffles all means of discovery, and what joy when such are caught and tried and condemned! It is all confirmation of the truth taught by this "vintage.
4. And the judgments that come now on ungodly nations, communities, and individuals are all in proof. History rightly read reveals the truth in luminous light: "Verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth." This harvest for God"s holy ones, and this vintage of those for whom his holy vengeance awaits, are both to be. When the sharp sickles that gather the one and the other are put in, where shall we be found? That is the question of questions for us all to answer. God, of his mercy, give us no rest until we can answer it aright! S.C.
Vers. 14-20. Judgment again represented.
In the spirit of the former words, and as a further confirmation of them, the process of judgment is again set forth under fresh images. So is consolation borne to the suffering and afflicted Church, and warning and admonition dealt out to the ungodly. Under the imagery of a harvest and of the gathering of the vintage, the certainties of the threatened judgment and the promised blessedness are set forth. The afflicted, down trodden, despised Church must here see mighty motives urged upon it to maintain a steadfast faith and hope and patience. This vision declares
I THE FINAL CESSATION OF THE CHURCH"S SUFFERING. Her warfare may be long continued. Generation after generation of believers may be called upon to suffer, but an end is appointed. It will be proclaimed: "The hour to reap is come." The life of "earth ever the symbol of that which stands in opposition to the heavenlies has been patiently borne through much long suffering. But this is at an end harvest of the earth is over ripe." The command is issued, "Send forth thy sickle, and reap.
II THE GATHERING OF A HARVEST HAS THE PREVAILING CHARACTER OF GRACIOUSNESS. It is the ingathering of that which sprang from "the seed" which "is the Word;" and, in our view, indicates the gathering for the heavenly garner.
III THE FIGURE OF THE VINTAGE IS RESERVED FOR THE EXPRESSION OF THE WRATH OF GOD. "Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel?... I have trodden the wine press alone." Here it is distinguished as "the great wine press of the wrath of God." No such designation is given to the wheat harvest. In this, then, we are to see the final judgment upon the wicked. Thus are set before us both the ingathering of the holy the harvest waiting for which "the husbandman" has had "long patience," and the ingathering or crushing of the wicked. "Terrible," indeed, "is he in his doings to the children of men. R.G.
Vers. 14-20. The moral seasons of humanity.
"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," etc. There are three moral seasons implied in this section of the Apocalyptic vision.
I THE RIPENING SEASON. "And I looked saw, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud One sat like unto the a Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle" (ver. 14). This language may be taken as an illustration of that supreme Divinity that presides over all the moral seasons of mankind. He is glorious. He is encircled with a "cloud," dazzling and splendid, he is human. He is "like unto the Son of man." Supreme Divinity is full of humanity, and humanity is full of God. He is royal. He has "upon his head a golden crown." He is "the King of kings, and Lord of lords." He is absolute, he has "in his hand a sharp sickle." He has the power to put an end to the whole system whenever he pleases; he kills and he makes alive. Such is the Being that presides over our histories, our lives, and destinies. Our world is not left to chance or fate, blind force or arbitrary despotism. There is an intelligent Being over it, all glorious, yet human, royal and absolute. He presides over the ripening season. Months before the sickle is thrust in the ripening has been going on. There are two classes of principles, good and evil, which are seeds growing in all human souls. Both are implanted. Neither of them is inbred. The seed of evil is not constitutional; the seeds of good are almost exterminated by the seeds of sin. "A man sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat." The spirit of evil implants the one. "An enemy came and sowed tares." The Son of man implants the other. Both, in all souls, are constantly growing and advancing to ripeness. Although human nature is made for truth and right, it can grow error and wrong. It can develop a false impression or an erroneous sentiment into an upas that shall spread its baneful branches over empires, and poison the heart of ages.
II THE HARVEST SEASON. "Thrust in send forth thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come" (ver. 15). All life culminates in maturity. "First the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear." Growth is but life running into ripeness, the river runs to the ocean. "The harvest of the earth is ripe, the grapes are fully ripe." In connection with this it is suggested that the harvest is under the direction of a supreme intelligence. "And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud" (ver. 15). The angel had no power to snatch the sickle from the Divine hand and employ it. The Divine permission is absolutely necessary; life and death are with him. "There is an appointed time for man upon the earth." No creature or combination of creatures, however mighty, can abbreviate or prolong the appointed period. There are no premature deaths in human history. Angels, it may be, in countless numbers await his behest. They are reads to strike down when he permits. Death is ever on the wing; silently and stealthily he approaches every human being, and strikes the moment he has permission.
III THE VINTAGE SEASON. "Thrust in send forth thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe" (ver. 18). The vintage is a section of the harvest. The vine reaches its maturity and has its harvest, as well as the ears of corn, and the pressing of these grapes is the vintage. Three things are suggested in connection with this vintage.
1. Divine severity. "The great wine press of the wrath of God. And the wine press was trod, ten without the city, and blood came out of the wine press" (vers. 19, 20). Grapes in the press were usually trodden by the feet of men. (see Isa_63:2, 3 Lam_1:15) The idea of severity could scarcely fail to be conveyed to the spectator whose feet trampled on the soft, blooming, beautiful grape, so that the juice like its very blood streamed forth. "The wrath of God." There is no wrath in God but the wrath of love. Divine law is but love speaking in the imperative mood; Divine retribution is but Divine love chastising the child to bring him back to the right and the true.
2. Great abundance. "Blood came out of the wine press, even unto the horse bridles" (ver. 20). That is, the juice flowing like a deep river, rising to the very bridles of the horses. Who shall measure the final issues of the moral seasons of humanity?
3. Extensive range. "A thousand and six hundred furlongs" (ver. 20) a hundred and fifty miles. A definite number of miles for an indefinite space. The final issue of souls will be as wide as immensity. D.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v14 Thrust in thy sickle, and reap.
Rev_14:14-20
Thrust in thy sickle, and reap.
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The harvest and the vintage
It is held by many that both these refer to the same fact of Gods judgment against sin and sinners. And no doubt, at times, the harvest does mean such judgment (Joe_3:13; Jer_51:33). In Mat_13:1-58. both harvests--that of good and evil alike--are told of. Let both grow together until, etc. Still more commonly the figure stands for the people of God and their ingathering into His blessed presence. And we think that here, whilst there can be no doubt as to what the vintage means, the harvest does not mean the same, but that gathering of the wheat into His garner which shall one day most surely be accomplished. For see the preface (verse 13) to this vision. It speaks of the blessed dead and their rest. And but for the plain pointing out that the vintage did not refer to them, that also would have been so understood. And the Lord Jesus Christ--for He is meant--is Himself the Reaper (verse 14), Himself thrusts in the sickle (verse 16), whilst the vintage of judgment is assigned to an angel (verse 17), indicating that it is a different work from the other. And the figure itself, the harvest, the precious corn fully ripe, belongs generally and appropriately to that which is also precious and an object of delight, as is the company of His people to the Lord whose they are. It is not the time of the harvest, but the corn of the harvest, which is spoken of here, and this is ever the type of good, and not evil. Thus understood, let us note--
I. The harvest. The harvest of the earth. This tells of--
1. The multitude of Gods people. Who can count the ears of corn even in one harvest-field? how much less in the harvest of the whole earth?
2. The preciousness of them. What could we do without the literal harvest of the earth? Our all, humanly speaking, depends upon it.
3. The joy of God in them. They shall joy before Thee with the joy of harvest.
4. The care that has been needed and given.
5. The long patience that has been exercised. Who but God could be so patient? We often cry, How long, O Lord, how long? But He waits--and we must learn the like lesson--for the harvest of the earth, for that which is being ripened in our own soul.
6. The evidence of ripeness. We know of the natural harvest that it is ripe by the grain assuming its golden hue. And when it is thus with the people of God, when the golden light of the Sun of Righteousness shines on them and they are transformed thereby, then the evidence of ripeness is seen, and the season for the sickle has come.
7. God will certainly gather in His people. Harvest shall not fail; nor shall this harvest either. Look up, lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
II. The Vintage. Under the altar on which was the fire, over which the angel told of in verse 18 had power, were the souls of them that had been slain for the testimony of Jesus (Rev_6:9). They had asked, How long, O Lord dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And now the answer is given. The vintage of vengeance has begun. For the grapes of the vine of the earth are fully ripe. It is the judgment of the whole earth, when all nations shall be gathered (Mat_25:1-46.) before the Son of Man. The square of four--four ever the symbol of the earth--amplified by hundreds, the one thousand and six hundred furlongs of verse 20, likewise point to the universality of this awful judgment. Minor fulfilments--presages, predictions, and patterns of the final judgment--of these there have been many and will be many; but in this vintage of vengeance upon the worlds sin all are summed up and fulfilled. But will there be any such event at all?
1. Men have ever felt that there ought to be such judgment.
2. And now it is declared that such judgment shall be. Conscience assents to it.
3. Human law and justice strive after right judgment.
4. And the judgments that come now on ungodly nations, communities, and individuals are all in proof. (S. Conway, B. A.)
A coronation sermon
I. The illustrious personage intended. This we conceive to be no other than the Lord Jesus Christ, the exalted Messiah, who, for the suffering of death, was made a little lower than the angels, and is now crowned with glory and honour.
1. His characteristic designation--The Son of Man. This was the form or similitude He wore. The manhood of Christ is exalted to the throne of Deity.
2. His high exaltation. He is said to be throned on the clouds of heaven, and dignified with the highest honours.
3. The insignia appropriate to His office. He is advanced to the dignity and authority of a king, and therefore is invested with a crown of gold, and a sickle--an emblem of power, answering to a sceptre or sword, but put in this form, as having a relation to the service which was immediately to be performed in reaping the harvest of the earth. These are the regalia of His kingly office.
II. The magnificent appearance He assumed.
1. He is seated on a white cloud. On a cloud, to betoken His elevation and empire. On a white cloud, to signify the immaculate purity of His nature, as the Holy One of God; the unimpeachable rectitude of His administrations, transparent as the fleecy vapour of which these visible heavens are composed; and the blessed consequences of His government, when purity shall be universally established, and white-robed Innocence, returning to our forsaken world, shall take place of fraud and rapine, violence and blood. Furthermore, on this luminous cloud He is said to have been seated, as on a throne, expressing at once the high dignity and perfect repose which He enjoys.
2. On His head was a golden crown. The crown is an emblem of empire and dominion, and a crown of pure gold fitly represents the validity of His title, and the honour and glory by which He is encircled.
3. In His hand there is a sharp sickle. This I apprehend to be an emblem of His judicial authority and retributive vengeance. To Him the Father hath given authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man, and hath put all things into His hands. What havoc and slaughter shall be made by the sharp sickle, with which He is invested, when His irreclaimable enemies shall be made the helpless victims of His inexorable indignation! When the great day of His wrath is come, who shall be able to stand?
III. The practical lessons inculcated by the contemplation of the subject.
1. We infer the high and honourable conceptions we should form and entertain of the Lord Christ.
2. We infer that, before honour is humility.
3. Let us learn how important it is to ascertain whether we are among the subjects of this exalted Prince.
4. Let us learn to rejoice in the perfection of His administration.
5. Let us learn how terrible will be the final doom of all the enemies of this mighty Prince.
6. If such be the advantages and pleasures connected with the sight and contemplation of a glorified Saviour in this world, what will the beatific vision include? To see Him as He is, without the interposition of any obscuring veil, any dense medium! (G. Clayton.)
The harvest of the earth
The expression is a singular and, indeed, a striking one.
I. God prepared the earth for His seeding. Scientific men may wrangle over the ages and order of creation. It is enough for us to know that, at a given time, God had prepared the earth to be the scene of a moral trial for a new race of beings. The farmer cleans, and ploughs, and manures, and harrows, and ridges, his fields, in precise adaptation to the crop that he intends to grow upon it; and earth is the prepared field of God, made ready for His sowing.
II. God seeds His prepared earth with men. Scattering the seed all over the earth, that mans probation may be carried on under every varying condition of soil, and landscape, and climate, and relationship. God keeps on seeding the earth with men; every seed with a great possibility in it; every seed set where its possibility may freely unfold, and where the God-provided influences all tend to the nourishment of all its best possibilities. Men, men everywhere are the seed of God. They are quick with Divine life, and sown in the earth to grow into a harvest for God.
III. The harvest God seeks from His seeding is character. God sows His earth with moral beings, in the hope of reaping moral character. But what is moral character? It is the proper fruitage of the earth-experience of moral beings. But can we understand it a little more fully than that? A moral being is one that can recognise a distinction between good and evil, and, when the distinction is seen, can choose for itself which it will have, the good or the evil. But a moral being must be put into such circumstances as will offer it the choice between good and evil. And substantially the test amounts to this: good is doing what is known to be the will of the Creator: evil is doing the will of the moral being himself, when that is known to be not the will of the Creator. The story of a life is the story of that conflict. It is the growth, through the long months, of Gods seed into the full corn in the ear of established moral character. It is the unfolding of what God would gather in from His seeding of men, the righteousness of the accepted will of God. One thing only does man take through the great gates--the character that he has gained. It is the full ear that heads the stalk, and ripens for the reaper.
IV. God has anxious times while His seed of men is growing into His harvest of character. Every blade that breaks the earth in the farmers field has to fight for its life with varied foes: insects, worms, mildew, rust, living creatures, varying temperatures, crowding weeds; the growth of every blade to stalk and ear is a hard-won victory. The stalk can do its best, and be its best, only at the cost of unceasing struggle and watchfulness. And the field of earth is but a type of the world of men. Every character is the product of a stern experience, the issue of a hundred fights; a triumph from an unceasing struggle. The problem of each mans dealings with his surroundings--helpful be they, or injurious--God is intensely interested in. He is anxious as the farmer is anxious over his growing blades. The one thing of profoundest interest to God is the making of characters in His great earth-fields. Be it so; then a fact of infinite sadness has to be faced. The issue is disappointing, for Gods harvest-hope of reaping character from His sowing of men is only partially fulfilled. (R. Tuck, B. A.)
The twin mysteries: life and death
I. The true theory of a good mans life ripening for the harvest. Did you ask, while you saw the farmer plodding his weary way, what means that sowing? Did you ask, as you saw the wind and the snow fulfilling the word of a higher power, what means the white flake and the rough blast? You have now the plainest answer in the growing of the corn. And if you again inquire, What is it growing for? the harvest will explain that. When the ear has been well filled, and the heat hath ripened and moulded the wheat, and the golden treasures are gathered home amid the reapers song of joy, and the barns are filled with plenty, the result will sufficiently explain the theory of agricultural toil and of natural influences. And in like manner the growth of the soul explains the moral discipline of life; and the harvest of souls in heaven explains their growth on earth. The days we spend at present are all days of discipline. Now, is this the theory of your life? Are you conscious of such growth and ripening? No, says some poor, timid, cast-down Christian, there is no growth, no ripening in me; my heart is as hard and cold as ever it can be. But, are you not conscious of resisting temptation? You cannot deny that you are fighting against sin. H you cannot boast of any good, and have a great deal of evil to lament, still you can conscientiously admit that if you did not make a decided stand you would have a great deal more of evil than you have at present. And is there not hope in that fact--that casting off of evil, and striving and praying and wishing to get rid of spiritual death?--is not that a sign of spiritual life, of spiritual growth, at least in its earliest stage? Thank God, there is hope. It is God working in you; He will not fail to watch over you for your good.
II. The true theory of death as illustrated by the text. First of all, it is never premature. If the wicked are not cut down until they are ripe for judgment, we cannot believe that Gods people are cut down till they are ripe for glory. Fitness for heaven, be it remembered, consists not in the particular state of mind in which a man may happen to be when the death-stroke overtakes him. It does not depend upon his being in a state of religious consciousness. No; it depends upon the habits in previous life, upon the principle of his previous history. Nor shall we be dismissed till we have had full opportunity of doing all that the Master intends us to do. There are different degrees of service, even as there are varied kinds of service. The terms of service are sometimes long and sometimes short. Nor forget that there may be much living to good purpose when the length of life has been very limited. We often measure life by length. Does not God measure it by depth and breadth? We look at quantity, does not He look at quality? The harvest is never premature, and is always carefully gathered in, and nothing lost. There is something very instructive in the signs of careful preparation for the harvest, which are indicated in the text. Before it is commenced, a voice announces the arrival of the time, and the purpose is calmly and deliberately executed. In the death harvest there is no haste and nothing lost. Of all that the Father hath given Me, said Christ, have I lost nothing. He is as careful of what there is of value in the soul as of the soul itself. How very apt are we to fancy, when such an one is suddenly cut off, that the great stores of his mind are wasted, that his acquirements by study and discipline are now lose to him. No, no, we may rely upon it, that there is not anything worth carrying into the eternal world that that sanctified soul will leave behind it; not one noble affection but is nobler than it ever was; not one great principle but it is stronger in the soul than ever, not one spiritual habit but it has grown in force, not one true excellence but it excels in beauty. And the harvest gathered in without less is preserved afterwards without loss: Gather the wheat into My garner. Corn is laid up to be preserved; but that is not all, it is also laid up that it may be used. At the death harvest, the soul is placed for ever beyond the reach of harm. The accidents to which it was exposed while growing, the moral frost, and blight, and mildew, and the blast of the lightning, they are all among the former things, and have passed away. But the soul is preserved where it will be of greater use than it ever was. The best use of the corn comes when it is cut. All before was subordinate usefulness, beautifying the landscape and furnishing subjects for poets and painters; but when it is cut, it feeds and sustains the nations. So the best use of the soul and its acquirements will be in heaven, not here. (J. Stoughton.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv14–16 14–16. I looked, and behold white cloud, and upon…
14–16. I looked, and behold white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of Man. Jesus has himself said that the Son of man shall be seen coming upon the clouds of heaven (Matt. 24:30). John here sees the Son of Man sitting upon a white cloud. The Savior says that his coming shall be with great power and glory. John now sees upon the head of the Son of man a golden crown. The Savior says (Matt. 24:31) that he will send his angels to gather the elect. John hears an angel bid him who sat upon the cloud, to reap the earth, for its harvest was ripe.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv14–15 like unto the Son
like unto the Son
Cf. Mat 26:64, Contra, 1Th 4:16; 1Th 4:17
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v14 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
John begins to describe the next part of his vision. This part is about the Son of Man harvesting the earth. Harvesting the grain is a symbol of God's judging people. (See: Symbolic Language)
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one like a son of man
This expression describes a human figure, someone who looks human. See how you translated this in Revelation 1:13. (See: Simile)
golden crown
This was the likeness of a wreath of olive branches or laurel leaves, hammered out in gold. Examples actually made of leaves were given to victorious athletes to wear on their heads.
sickle
a tool with a curved blade used for cutting grass, grain, and vines (See: Translate Unknowns)
came out of the temple
"came out of the heavenly temple"
the time to reap has come
Existing in the present is spoken of as having come. (See: Metaphor)
the earth was harvested
This can be stated in active form. AT: "he harvested the earth" (See: Active or Passive)
translationWords
Son of Man
gold
crown
angel
temple
voice
reap
time
harvest
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv14–15 14:14-20 Two brief scenes portray God’s judgment.
14:14-20 Two brief scenes portray God’s judgment.
14:14 the Son of Man: Or like a son of man; see study note on 1:13. • A gold crown is a symbol of status or power, clearly distinguishing Jesus from the angels (see 4:4; 6:2; 9:7; 12:3; 13:1). • The sharp sickle is symbolic of God’s harvest of judgment (see 14:17-18; see also Jer 51:33; Hos 6:11; Mic 4:12-13).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.