27-Looking to the Final Judgment--Outline

Foreshadowing the End

Studies in the Book of Revelation

Looking to the Final Judgment

Revelation 14:14-20

I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one “like a son of man” with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. 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.” So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.  Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, “Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe.” The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.

The Holy Bible : New International Version, electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, c1984), Re 14:19-20.

      I.            The Who’s Who of the Final Judgment

a.       There are four characters in this vision, who are they?

                                                              i.      The one “like a son of man.”

                                                            ii.      Another angel from out of the Temple in heaven.

                                                          iii.      A second angel from out of the Temple.

                                                          iv.      A third angel, one having charge of the fire at the altar in heaven.

b.      Three of these characters are called “angels,” who is the fourth?  What does John see?

                                                              i.      He sees one who appears “like a son of man.”

                                                            ii.      He sees that this one is “seated upon a white cloud.”

                                                          iii.      He sees a sharp sickle in his hand.

                                                          iv.      He also sees a crown of gold upon his head.

c.       Is there any indication as to the identity of this person?

                                                              i.      His appearance indicates that he is/was human (“son of man” always refers to a human).

                                                            ii.      The phrase “son of man” has already been attributed to someone in Rev. 1:13.

                                                          iii.      The prediction of one’s coming in the clouds was previously stated in Rev. 1:7

                                                          iv.      This event was foretold by Daniel in 7:13-14.  In Daniel this one was said . . .

1.      To be given authority and sovereign power.

2.      To receive the worship of all humanity.

3.      To receive an everlasting kingdom from God.

                                                            v.      The golden crown upon his head indicates victory.

                                                          vi.      1 Thess. 4:16 directs us to see this one as the Lord himself.

                                                        vii.      In fact, everything about this person directs us to see him as Jesus Christ.

   II.            The Events of the Final Judgment

a.       There are two actors and two actions.

                                                              i.      The first, Jesus, harvests the earth.

                                                            ii.      The second, an angel, gathers the clusters of grapes.

b.      But there is only one judgment!

The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia

The Final Judgment

There are two difficult things in this passage.

First, there is the fact that the one like a son of man reaps and also an angel reaps. We may regard the one like the son of man, the risen and victorious Lord, reaping the harvest of his own people, while the angel with the sharp sickle reaps the harvest of those destined for judgment.

Second, it is said that the blood came up to the horses’ bridles and spread for a distance of sixteen hundred stades or furlongs. No one has ever discovered a really satisfying explanation of this. The least unsatisfactory explanation is that sixteen hundred stades is almost exactly the length of Palestine from north to south; and this would mean that the tide of judgment would flow over and include the whole land. In that case the figure would symbolically describe the completeness of the judgment.

The Revelation of John : Volume 2, ed. William Barclay, lecturer in the University of Glasgow, The Daily study Bible series, Rev. ed. (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 2000, c1976), 116.

Certainly, John is using hyperbole when he describes a river of blood four feet deep and 200 miles long (see also Isa. 63:1–6). Today, God is speaking to the world in grace, and men will not listen. One day hence, He must speak in wrath. The bitter cup will be drunk, the harvest of sin reaped, and the vine of the earth cut down and cast into the winepress.

Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, "An Exposition of the New Testament Comprising the Entire 'BE' Series"--Jkt. (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1996, c1989), Re 14:6.

III.            Some Thoughts

a.       We are tempted to view these portions of Revelation with fear and discouragement.

b.      Why?  Because we see trouble, distress, and judgment heaped one upon the other.

c.       But . . . The book of Revelation wasn’t given as a book of despair but of warning and joy.

d.      Warning to those who continue to turn away from God to their own sin.

e.       Joy to those who turn to God for forgiveness.