And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
After the blessing on the dead who die in the Lord and after one like the Son of man on a white cloud with a golden crown reaps the ripe harvest at the call of an angel from the temple, another angel comes out of the temple in heaven also having a sharp sickle. At the command of the angel from the altar with power over fire, he gathers the fully ripe clusters of the vine of the earth and casts them into the great winepress of the wrath of God, which is trodden without the city until blood comes out even to the horse bridles for sixteen hundred furlongs. It follows the proclamation of the threefold message, the last message before the Lord's coming when the Son of man is seen in glory coming to reap the earth's harvest. Its sharp sickle is the instrument for executing judgment and the destruction awaiting the wicked, while God's sealed commandment-keeping people remain distinct amid a world filled with violence and crime on the brink of perdition. It belongs to the chapter whose messages are the everlasting gospel by which the world is tested, heaven's message for the last days connected with Christ's ministration and closing work in the heavenly sanctuary.
Vision Sequence and Setting
The verse comes after the proclamation of the threefold message, which is the last message before the Lord's coming, when the Son of man is seen in glory coming to reap the harvest of the earth. It belongs to the harvest vision that follows that proclamation and is set in the coming of the Son of man in glory to reap the earth.
It continues the sequence after the blessing on the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth, who rest from their labors with their works following them. One like the Son of man is seen on a white cloud with a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand, who is told by an angel coming out of the temple to thrust in His sickle and reap because the time to reap has come and the harvest of the earth is ripe, and He reaps the earth. After that reaping, another angel comes out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
That sickle-bearing angel is then commanded by the angel coming from the altar, who has power over fire, to thrust in his sharp sickle and gather the fully ripe clusters and grapes of the vine of the earth. He casts them into the great winepress of the wrath of God, which is trodden without the city until blood comes out even to the horse bridles for sixteen hundred furlongs. The sickle is thus the instrument for gathering the fully ripe fruit for this execution of judgment.
The verse presents one of five angels in the chapter, each representing a distinct message given before the Second Advent. As one of the last two angels, its message is a message of prayer that will be better understood when it is fulfilled.
Judgment of Ripe Harvest
The sharp sickle is the instrument for gathering the fully ripe grapes and clusters of the vine of the earth to cast them into the great winepress of the wrath of God. Another angel comes out of the temple in heaven also having a sharp sickle after the Son of man has reaped the earth, ready as part of the earth's final harvest. The sickle-bearing angel is then directed to gather the fully ripe grapes of the earth, and the gathering and casting into the winepress marks the execution of this judgment. The scene depicts the destruction awaiting the wicked.
The vision hangs judicial wrath over a world filled with violence and crime, robbery of God, avarice, sensuality and demon-worship. That world stands on the brink of perdition while God's sealed commandment-keeping people remain distinct. This solemn judgment brings terrible revelations upon those who have built their house on sand.
The sickle also belongs to the vision of the harvest at Christ's coming, when Jesus descends on a glorious cloud with a sharp sickle. There He searches His people and gathers the redeemed, so the sickle is associated with His return and the final gathering of the saints.
The verse belongs to the prophecies of Revelation 12 to 18 that are being fulfilled. Its message is part of the last message of warning that all are to hear and that is now to be given, leading to the very last call to the churches in chapter 18 and then to the taking of the beast and false prophet, the binding of the dragon for a thousand years, the resurrection and final destruction of Satan and all the wicked, and the final triumph and reign of Christ on this earth. The prophecy of Revelation 13 and 14, including this verse, is the basis for expecting that all classes except the little flock will unite to exalt Sunday and enforce its observance by stringent laws.
Gospel Message and Proclamation
Revelation 14:17 belongs to the chapter whose messages are the everlasting gospel, by which the world is tested and which is to be proclaimed everywhere. It belongs to the passage that reveals the united first, second, and third angels' messages, and together these messages proclaim the whole gospel throughout the world.
It is part of the angel messages of the fourteenth chapter, which are heaven's message for the last days and are connected with Christ's ministration in the heavenly sanctuary. The messages of the chapter describe a special movement in relation to the past and the future, the closing work of Christ in heaven, and the work of His people on earth. They confirm faith in the work already accomplished and provide instruction and warning against deception.
The first and second angels' messages have been proclaimed in years past, and the third angel's message is now being given to the churches that have fallen. The third angel's message includes the other two messages of Revelation 14, and its proclamation makes prominent the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. It means much to believers and to unbelievers whether they receive and believe and live it out, and it is solemn and must be proclaimed with courage and unfailing perseverance, warning the world and exalting the Sabbath of Jehovah as a sign between God and His people. The chapter calls people to worship God as Creator and shows a class who keep God's commandments as the result of its threefold message, with that call connected especially with the fourth commandment, since the Sabbath identifies God as Creator and is a sign and memorial of creation, so the message to worship God and keep His commandments particularly calls people to keep the Sabbath.
The chapter gives special messages of warning that point out the right way and have called God's people out from the world. These messages are not secondary to medical missionary work, and those who have heard them must come to their senses and make their lives an expression of genuine faith and spirituality. That required response is different from the unbelief and worldliness of the Jewish nation in rejecting Christ and the prophecies of His coming.
The verse belongs to the message of the third angel that is now to be proclaimed not only in lands far off but in neglected places close by where multitudes dwell unwarned and unsaved. It calls for a long-delayed work to enlighten those never yet warned, with work in the cities regarded as of special importance, carried out by carefully selected workers laboring two and two in harmony with experienced counsel and under the direction and commission of Jesus Christ. It belongs to the present truth of the third angel's message that all who cooperate with God are to unite in proclaiming, coming after the warning against worship of the beast and his image, the patience of the saints who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, the blessing on the dead which die in the Lord, and the coming of the Son of man on a white cloud with a sharp sickle.
It continues the harvest vision after the blessing on the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth who rest from their labors with their works following them, and after one like the Son of man is seen on a white cloud with a golden crown and a sharp sickle who is told by an angel from the temple to thrust in his sickle and reap because the time to reap has come and the harvest of the earth is ripe. The verse shows another angel coming out of the temple in heaven also having a sharp sickle, and with verses 16-20 and chapter 15 it is to be read and made the subject of meditation. As part of the final harvest of the earth, it follows the Son of man on a white cloud with a golden crown and a sharp sickle reaping the ripe harvest of the earth at the loud call of an angel from the temple, and it leads to the angel from the altar with power over fire commanding the angel with the sharp sickle to gather the fully ripe clusters of the vine of the earth and cast them into the great winepress of the wrath of God, which is trodden without the city until blood comes out even to the horse bridles for sixteen hundred furlongs. The verse stands with the promises of Christ's coming, resurrection, deliverance of His people, and final judgment as the reason for the Adventist name and hope.
After the blessing on the dead who die in the Lord and after one like the Son of man on a white cloud with a golden crown reaps the ripe harvest at the call of an angel from the temple, another angel comes out of the temple in heaven also having a sharp sickle. At the command of the angel from the altar with power over fire, he gathers the fully ripe clusters of the vine of the earth and casts them into the great winepress of the wrath of God, which is trodden without the city until blood comes out even to the horse bridles for sixteen hundred furlongs. It follows the proclamation of the threefold message, the last message before the Lord's coming when the Son of man is seen in glory coming to reap the earth's harvest. Its sharp sickle is the instrument for executing judgment and the destruction awaiting the wicked, while God's sealed commandment-keeping people remain distinct amid a world filled with violence and crime on the brink of perdition. It belongs to the chapter whose messages are the everlasting gospel by which the world is tested, heaven's message for the last days connected with Christ's ministration and closing work in the heavenly sanctuary.
Vision Sequence and Setting
The verse comes after the proclamation of the threefold message, which is the last message before the Lord's coming, when the Son of man is seen in glory coming to reap the harvest of the earth. It belongs to the harvest vision that follows that proclamation and is set in the coming of the Son of man in glory to reap the earth.
It continues the sequence after the blessing on the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth, who rest from their labors with their works following them. One like the Son of man is seen on a white cloud with a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand, who is told by an angel coming out of the temple to thrust in His sickle and reap because the time to reap has come and the harvest of the earth is ripe, and He reaps the earth. After that reaping, another angel comes out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
That sickle-bearing angel is then commanded by the angel coming from the altar, who has power over fire, to thrust in his sharp sickle and gather the fully ripe clusters and grapes of the vine of the earth. He casts them into the great winepress of the wrath of God, which is trodden without the city until blood comes out even to the horse bridles for sixteen hundred furlongs. The sickle is thus the instrument for gathering the fully ripe fruit for this execution of judgment.
The verse presents one of five angels in the chapter, each representing a distinct message given before the Second Advent. As one of the last two angels, its message is a message of prayer that will be better understood when it is fulfilled.
Judgment of Ripe Harvest
The sharp sickle is the instrument for gathering the fully ripe grapes and clusters of the vine of the earth to cast them into the great winepress of the wrath of God. Another angel comes out of the temple in heaven also having a sharp sickle after the Son of man has reaped the earth, ready as part of the earth's final harvest. The sickle-bearing angel is then directed to gather the fully ripe grapes of the earth, and the gathering and casting into the winepress marks the execution of this judgment. The scene depicts the destruction awaiting the wicked.
The vision hangs judicial wrath over a world filled with violence and crime, robbery of God, avarice, sensuality and demon-worship. That world stands on the brink of perdition while God's sealed commandment-keeping people remain distinct. This solemn judgment brings terrible revelations upon those who have built their house on sand.
The sickle also belongs to the vision of the harvest at Christ's coming, when Jesus descends on a glorious cloud with a sharp sickle. There He searches His people and gathers the redeemed, so the sickle is associated with His return and the final gathering of the saints.
The verse belongs to the prophecies of Revelation 12 to 18 that are being fulfilled. Its message is part of the last message of warning that all are to hear and that is now to be given, leading to the very last call to the churches in chapter 18 and then to the taking of the beast and false prophet, the binding of the dragon for a thousand years, the resurrection and final destruction of Satan and all the wicked, and the final triumph and reign of Christ on this earth. The prophecy of Revelation 13 and 14, including this verse, is the basis for expecting that all classes except the little flock will unite to exalt Sunday and enforce its observance by stringent laws.
Gospel Message and Proclamation
Revelation 14:17 belongs to the chapter whose messages are the everlasting gospel, by which the world is tested and which is to be proclaimed everywhere. It belongs to the passage that reveals the united first, second, and third angels' messages, and together these messages proclaim the whole gospel throughout the world.
It is part of the angel messages of the fourteenth chapter, which are heaven's message for the last days and are connected with Christ's ministration in the heavenly sanctuary. The messages of the chapter describe a special movement in relation to the past and the future, the closing work of Christ in heaven, and the work of His people on earth. They confirm faith in the work already accomplished and provide instruction and warning against deception.
The first and second angels' messages have been proclaimed in years past, and the third angel's message is now being given to the churches that have fallen. The third angel's message includes the other two messages of Revelation 14, and its proclamation makes prominent the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. It means much to believers and to unbelievers whether they receive and believe and live it out, and it is solemn and must be proclaimed with courage and unfailing perseverance, warning the world and exalting the Sabbath of Jehovah as a sign between God and His people. The chapter calls people to worship God as Creator and shows a class who keep God's commandments as the result of its threefold message, with that call connected especially with the fourth commandment, since the Sabbath identifies God as Creator and is a sign and memorial of creation, so the message to worship God and keep His commandments particularly calls people to keep the Sabbath.
The chapter gives special messages of warning that point out the right way and have called God's people out from the world. These messages are not secondary to medical missionary work, and those who have heard them must come to their senses and make their lives an expression of genuine faith and spirituality. That required response is different from the unbelief and worldliness of the Jewish nation in rejecting Christ and the prophecies of His coming.
The verse belongs to the message of the third angel that is now to be proclaimed not only in lands far off but in neglected places close by where multitudes dwell unwarned and unsaved. It calls for a long-delayed work to enlighten those never yet warned, with work in the cities regarded as of special importance, carried out by carefully selected workers laboring two and two in harmony with experienced counsel and under the direction and commission of Jesus Christ. It belongs to the present truth of the third angel's message that all who cooperate with God are to unite in proclaiming, coming after the warning against worship of the beast and his image, the patience of the saints who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, the blessing on the dead which die in the Lord, and the coming of the Son of man on a white cloud with a sharp sickle.
It continues the harvest vision after the blessing on the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth who rest from their labors with their works following them, and after one like the Son of man is seen on a white cloud with a golden crown and a sharp sickle who is told by an angel from the temple to thrust in his sickle and reap because the time to reap has come and the harvest of the earth is ripe. The verse shows another angel coming out of the temple in heaven also having a sharp sickle, and with verses 16-20 and chapter 15 it is to be read and made the subject of meditation. As part of the final harvest of the earth, it follows the Son of man on a white cloud with a golden crown and a sharp sickle reaping the ripe harvest of the earth at the loud call of an angel from the temple, and it leads to the angel from the altar with power over fire commanding the angel with the sharp sickle to gather the fully ripe clusters of the vine of the earth and cast them into the great winepress of the wrath of God, which is trodden without the city until blood comes out even to the horse bridles for sixteen hundred furlongs. The verse stands with the promises of Christ's coming, resurrection, deliverance of His people, and final judgment as the reason for the Adventist name and hope.