Revelation 14:19 - Printer Friendly

ESV: So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.

NIV: The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath.

NASB: So 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.

CSB: So the angel swung his sickle at the earth and gathered the grapes from the vineyard of the earth, and he threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath.

NLT: So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and loaded the grapes into the great winepress of God’s wrath.

KJV: And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.

NKJV: 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.

The angel described in verse 18 used his sickle to sweep across the earth and to gather the grape harvest. Then he threw the grapes into the winepress of God's wrath.

This imagery is easily lost on a modern reader, but to the original audience, it would have been clear. The custom of the day was to produce grape juice by trampling the grapes underfoot in a winepress. Here, the grapes represent the wicked: God will prepare the wicked for final judgment by gathering them together to be trampled upon.

Isaiah 63:2–4 prophesies: "Why is your apparel red, and your garments like his who treads in the winepress? 'I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with me; I trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath; their lifeblood spattered on my garments, and stained all my apparel. For the day of vengeance was in my heart.'" That prophecy, along with this verse, anticipates the horrific scene depicted in Revelation 14:20.

At His return, Christ will gather earth's armies together at Armageddon, where He will "tread down" His enemies (Revelation 17:12–14; 19:15). Just as grapes are smashed and torn in a winepress, releasing wine, the enemies of God will be ripped apart, creating a tidal wave of blood.

Revelation 14:14–20 anticipates the judgment of the wicked that takes place at Christ's return. Matthew 13:36–43 and 24:21–46 disclose Jesus' words about this future event. Second Thessalonians 1:5–12 predicts it, and so does Jude 1:14–15. Isaiah 63:1–6 also describes the Lord's day of vengeance on the wicked. This event is poetically described using the image of a winepress, with blood streaming from it as high as a horse's head.

This chapter distinguishes two groups of people: those who believe in Jesus during the tribulation and those who worship the beast. John sees the Lamb, Jesus, and the 144,00 sealed Jewish servants of God standing together on Mount Zion. The scene anticipates the end of the tribulation with the 144,000 celebrating their victory over the beast. Heaven, too, celebrates their triumph. The eternal good news of salvation reaches the ends of the earth, calling upon everyone to turn to God or face His judgment and announcing the collapse of commercial Babylon and the eternal punishment of the beast, whose image so many unbelievers worshiped. This impending judgment is cause for believers to stay loyal to the Lord. Many believers will face martyrdom, but their temporary suffering does not compare with the eternal suffering worshipers of the beast will experience. When Christ returns to earth, the destruction of the wicked will be so complete that blood will flow so high it will reach a horse's bridle.

This chapter continues a segment of Revelation which deviates from the chronological account of the end times. These events occur at the end of the tribulation, when Christ returns to defeat all the remaining wickedness on earth. This event is given more details in chapter 19. In Acts 14:19–22 we learn that Paul and Barnabas returned to the cities of Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, where they strengthened the believers. They encouraged the believers by saying believers must endure many tribulations before they enter the kingdom. Revelation 14 and 15 offer similar encouragement to stay loyal to Christ in the face of persecution. Chapter 16 resumes a step-by-step account of the end times.

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''