Revelation 14:15, commentary and pictures

Another angel comes out of the heavenly temple and cries with a loud voice to Him who sits on the cloud to thrust in His sickle and reap. The One on the cloud is like the Son of man, seated on a white cloud with a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand, who as husbandman thrusts it in to reap. The command declares that the appointed time to reap has come because the harvest of the earth is ripe and fully mature. The reaping comes immediately after the third angel's warning and the threefold message have been proclaimed, after the work in the heavenly sanctuary is finished when the Son of man comes in glory on the cloud. The harvest is the coming of the Lord in glory for solemn judgment, when He gathers His people with the trumpet sounding and the sleeping saints raised and the living changed, unto deliverance and resurrection for His people and punishment for the wicked, ripening to two ends as precious grain for the heavenly garner or as fuel for the fires of the last day.

Vision Setting and Wording

Another angel comes out of the heavenly temple and cries with a loud voice to Him who sits on the cloud, bidding Him to thrust in His sickle and reap. The One addressed sits on a white cloud, like the Son of man, with a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. He descends holding the sickle, and as husbandman He is distinct from the sowers who labor in His stead, yet He Himself thrusts it in to reap. The command declares that the appointed time to reap has come because the harvest of the earth is ripe and fully mature.

The ripeness is complete maturity, and the time for the earth to be reaped has arrived. In order the cry follows the patience of the saints who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. It follows also the blessing on the dead who die in the Lord, that they rest from their labors and their works follow them. Then He thrusts His sickle into the earth so the earth is reaped, and this is followed by the gathering of the vine of the earth into the winepress of the wrath of God.

Timing in Last Days

The reaping comes immediately after the third angel's warning has been proclaimed and after the threefold message has gone forth, as the final message of mercy to the world before the Lord's coming. In that order the Son of man comes in glory to reap the earth's harvest when the harvest is ripe, and the reaping marks His coming and the solemn judgment for which the warning arouses people to reform and make ready. The command to reap follows the patience of the saints who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus and the blessing on the dead who die in the Lord, with One like the Son of man seated on a white cloud with a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand.

That harvest scene marks the time after the work in the heavenly sanctuary is finished, when Jesus comes on the cloud with His sickle. It is the coming of the Son of man in glory to reap the earth after the last message has been proclaimed.

The scene belongs to last-day events shown so that people can be prepared for them, and to scenes that will soon take place whose meaning will then be better understood. The chapter is a sermon to all concerning events that will take place in the last days of earth's history and should be carefully studied and understood, and its prophecies will soon be understood in all their bearings while its messages will be proclaimed again distinctly. It belongs to the last message of warning in Revelation 12 to 18 that all are to hear and that is being fulfilled, and when the reaping comes it will make the blessing of the dead in the Lord better understood, giving assurance that the faithful dead rest from their labors with their works following them, free from pain and beyond worry or anxiety.

The chapter is part of a special movement under Revelation 14, connected with the past and the future and with Christ's closing work in heaven and His people's work on earth. Its first, second, and third angels' messages united from Revelation 14:6 through the end of the chapter are the everlasting gospel proclamation to go throughout the world, appointed to be proclaimed everywhere as a test to the world and to prepare a people to stand in the great day of God. The three angels represent people who accept God's messages and go out as His agents to sound the warning throughout the world, entrusted with the truths of prophecy for this time. The first angel's warning about the judgment was not the only message to be given before Christ's advent, for further messages in the chapter were also to precede it.

Meaning of the Harvest

The harvest is the reaping of the earth in the scene of coming judgment, when the time has fully arrived and the command goes forth to reap because the harvest is ripe. It marks the coming of the Lord in glory and the solemn judgment, set against judicial wrath hanging over a rebellious multitude while God's commandment-keeping people stand distinct. It belongs to the solemn events when wrath breaks upon the world and exposes the outcome for those who have built on sand, dividing the commandment-keeping people from the world facing judgment. It comes immediately after the threefold warning message, describing Christ's return, the deliverance and resurrection of His people, and the judgment and punishment of the wicked, followed by the gathering of the vine of the earth into the winepress of wrath.

At His return on the cloud He gathers His people, descending with the sharp sickle in His hand. His trumpet sounds, the sleeping saints are raised, and the living saints are changed and caught up with them to meet Him. The closing messages ripen this harvest to two final outcomes. People are gathered either as sheaves and precious grain for the heavenly garner, or as fuel and fagots for the fires of the last day and destruction. That ripening brings the history of the Christian world to its end and decides position, dangers, conflicts, and final deliverance, instructing those who turn from error to truth about what lies ahead.

The ripening comes at a set time by God's Word given power and proclaimed with a loud voice by workers sent forth with the special message. It costs labor and pain and anguish of soul and time and money and the right use of God's talents. The latter rain will ripen the earth's harvest for God's gathering, and then the gifts of the Holy Spirit will be manifested in fullness. Opposition to justification by faith and righteousness by faith, denouncing living principles of truth as heresy, and counterworking by men in high places of trust waste those talents, hedge up the way of God's workers, and hinder the ripening work, repeating the blindness of Christ's day. Ripeness also means wickedness prevails to an alarming extent in a world that has disregarded the Word of God and lives as though there were no God, refusing any thought of God like the inhabitants of Noah's world. Disobedience brings the curse rather than prosperity in temporal and spiritual things, and when restraining power is not exercised and the destroyer is permitted to do his destroying work, calamities of every shape and in every degree come upon the earth.

The final harvest ripens as the gospel is sown and believers bear fruit to God's glory and spread the gospel seed. Christ comes to claim His people when His character has been fully reproduced in them, and when that harvest is ripe He will come to gather the precious grain. Christians can therefore hasten the harvest and His coming by faithfully sharing the gospel so that the harvest ripens quickly. Each day people are deciding by their choices what shall be written in the books of heaven for that harvest. The sickle only gathers what the soul itself prepared, for a harvest of sinful indulgence grows because a person resists a motion of the Spirit, and each resistance makes the next resistance easier until destruction is fully matured. God sends no decree that man shall not be saved and throws no impenetrable darkness before the eyes; the soul destroys itself by its own continued resistance. So too the doubts and unbelief sown in many minds bear fruit as a harvest ripening for the final gathering, which the sower will meet at the end to no cause for pride.

Prayer and Proclamation Symbols

The angel's cry is the united, persistent, day-and-night cry of prayer and mourning lifted by God's oppressed and chosen people for deliverance near the close of history in this world. Their rescue is delayed until His will is fulfilled, and the message of prayer is answered in the deliverance of the commandment-keeping remnant who have the testimony of Jesus. That harvest scene marks the time after the work in the heavenly sanctuary is finished and He comes on the cloud with His sickle, when the saints' coming cry is heard.

The verse also stands for the proclamation of the third angel's message with a loud voice and for the harvest message of the angel following the third angel. It comes after the warning against worship of the beast, after the description of the saints who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, and after the blessing on the dead who die in the Lord, and it is to be meditated upon together with the following verses through verse 20 and chapter 15 in preparation for Christ's soon coming. It is present truth and the Lord's one more call of mercy now to be given unitedly to all parts of the world until it lights the whole earth with the glory of God, calling all who receive the truth to accept its responsibility and show faith through active labor. The perversity of men diverts this harvest work from its true bearing, so the light must struggle amid the darkness of those who feel competent to do a work God has not appointed them to do.

In the sequence each angel represents a distinct message to be given before the advent, and the last two angels are messages of prayer that will be better understood when they are fulfilled. The harvest of the earth is the great harvest field where laborers and young men go forth to preach the truth, and the sharp sickle is prayer that goes out with them into that field and follows and supports their work. Believers are therefore to give time to wrestling with God for their ministers and holding up their hands in the work, praying that God will connect them with Himself and give them wisdom, grace, and knowledge, guard them from the snares of Satan, and keep them pure in thought and holy in heart.

The sickle is also the truth used to reap a harvest of souls and bring people to the truth through urgent gospel labor throughout the world. The command to thrust in the sickle and reap means preachers at every camp meeting must invite the worldly class as well as church members and do their utmost to save souls, for a meeting loses its effect if it closes without putting the sickle of truth to work. Those who have never united with any church and never made any profession of religion are often most easily won to the truth under gospel ministry. Places ready for missionary work are ripe for the harvest and calling for workers, underscoring the need to make workers and resources available, and prayers for laborers help make them effective like sharp sickles in the harvest field.

At the final reaping the results of faithful labor become visible when those prayed for and taught the truth are gathered as saved souls and sheaves into the heavenly garner. This harvest brings reward and joy to the Lord, who sees the fruit of His work and suffering and is satisfied. The faithful teacher with the true missionary spirit who labors for the salvation of souls under his charge will bring in many students as sheaves at that reaping. Those teachers and students will together share the life that measures with the life of God, life and immortality brought to light through Jesus Christ.

Call to Study and Action

Revelation 14 is to be studied as a whole and meditated upon through verse 20 and on through chapter 15, for the harvest cry belongs with the warning against worshiping the beast and its image and receiving its mark, given by those who keep God's commandments and the faith of Jesus. Its words are a sermon to all concerning the near advent and the events of the last days of earth's history, to be carefully studied and understood in preparation for Christ's soon coming. The reaping stands after the patience of the saints, after the blessing on the dead who die in the Lord, and after the appearing of One like the Son of man on the white cloud with golden crown and sharp sickle, and it leads on to the earth reaped. These three angels' messages are present truth for the time after the 1844 disappointment, given together with light on the sanctuary and the Sabbath truth, shining on the pathway of scattered believers concerning the near advent, which some receive gladly while others turn from the light and lose their hold on God and His truth.

The first and second angels' messages have been proclaimed in years past, and the third angel's message is now being given to fallen churches and to those who have never yet heard present truth. The third includes the other two, and its proclamation makes prominent the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. Because the fourth commandment identifies God as Creator, the call to worship Him as Creator especially calls to keep the seventh-day Sabbath as the memorial and sign of creation and of loyalty to the true God, and the result of the threefold message is a class who keep God's commandments. The first angel's warning of judgment was not the only message to precede Christ's advent, for further messages in the chapter were also to be given before it.

Proclaiming this solemn warning and exalting the Sabbath of Jehovah is the most important work, entrusted as watchmen and light-bearers in churches everywhere, especially in the cities. It is to be carried from city to city and from town to town, not only in lands far off but in neglected places close by where multitudes dwell unwarned and unsaved, with work in the cities regarded as of special importance. This long-delayed work of decided effort to enlighten those never yet warned is to be done by carefully selected workers laboring two and two in the cities in harmony with the counsel of experienced leaders and under the direction and commission of Jesus Christ.

Those who receive the truth must show faith by active labor and not wait for a special power to move them, but take up the work themselves and seek from God a true knowledge of self. The earth's harvest is nearly ripe and ready to be reaped, so the closing scenes are near and God's people must awaken and urgently press the truth upon all who will hear while opportunity remains. The prophecies have been explained through God's chosen servants in proclaiming the everlasting gospel everywhere as a test to prepare a people to stand in the great day of God, and those without experience in that work are not to create new interpretations turning away from light already given. The special warnings call hearers to genuine faith and spirituality and a life distinct from the world, and they must not be treated as secondary to medical missionary work, but those who heard them are to come to their senses and make life an expression of faith unlike unbelief and worldliness. There is a set time when the message goes with a loud voice to ripen the harvest by God's Word given power through workers sent with a special message, at cost of labor, anguish of soul, time, money, and right use of talents, and opposition to justification and righteousness by faith, denouncing living truth as heresy, and counterworking by men in high places of trust waste those talents, hedge up the workers' way, hinder the ripening, and repeat the blindness of Christ's day.

The great Searcher of hearts says to the individual, I know thy works, looking past outward appearance into the soul where others hold a person too high and count all done as right because they do not see the heart. His knowledge exposes an unhumbled heart, acknowledged errors never put away, sinfulness of thoughts, and the offensive character of works before God. His word calls for humbling the heart before God, jealous watch over self, seeing sin as offensive, and putting sin away, warning that to die in that condition is to lose the soul. The passage also comforts those grieving a faithful believer, that they should not grieve sorely but take comfort from the heavenly Messenger, for the blessed dead who die in the Lord rest from labors with works following them. When the reaping comes amid perilous times just before us, that blessing will be better understood, giving assurance that the faithful dead are free from pain and beyond worry or anxiety.