“Put in your sickle and reap, because the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.” (Revelation 14:14-20, NASB)

Which harvest are you going to be part of? Here is a question that came to mind as I read today’s reading. The idea of harvest is used throughout the Bible to describe God’s final judgment and the separation of the righteous and the unrighteous for their eternal destinies. In today’s passage, John saw in a vision two harvests of the earth, each by a different heavenly being. The first harvest was carried out by someone who looked like a son of man sitting on a white cloud, and the second was by an angel who had power over fire. It says,

“And I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown on His head, and a sharp sickle in His hand. And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, ‘Put in your sickle and reap, because the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.’ And He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth; and the earth was reaped. And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. And another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, ‘Put in your sharp sickle, and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.’ And the angel swung his sickle to the earth, and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God. And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles.”

Although it is not clearly stated, the description of the first being indicates that he was Jesus himself. The second being is clearly stated as an “angel.” We can say that the first harvesting of the earth is about the harvest of the righteous on the earth, and the second is the harvest of the unrighteous. In other parts of the Bible, these are described as the first and second resurrection. Jesus said that at his second coming, “He will send forth his angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of the sky to the other” (Mt.24:30-31). More than ever, we must pay heed to the words of Jesus, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest” (Mt.9:37-38).

The second harvest, on the other hand, was executed by an angel who “came out of the altar” having “power over fire.” It says that when this angel swung his sickle over the earth, “the clusters from the vine of the earth” were harvested and they were thrown into “the great wine press of the wrath of God.” Then this wine press was trodden, and blood came out of it and filled the earth “up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles.” This harvest is definitely talking about the judgment of the unrighteous. It is interesting to note that at the second coming, Jesus is seen wearing “a robe dipped in blood” (Rev.19:13), indicating that he was one treading the winepress of the wrath of God. The second harvest is talking about the harvest of the wicked people on the earth who have rejected God’s plan of salvation. Jesus explained, “The harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. Therefore, just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mt.13:39-42).

No matter how you interpret these two harvests in today’s passage, one thing is clear. There will be a harvest of souls for judgment, both the judgment of the righteous and of the unrighteous. At the harvest, you will reap what you have sown. Galatians 6:7-8 says, “Whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life.” Will you be harvesting corruption or eternal life? Which harvest are you going to be part of?

• Who do you think is the one like the son of man sitting on the cloud with a sharp sickle?
• How should Christians live today in view of the harvest of the earth being ripe?