Revelation 14:20
And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.
It closes the harvest in Revelation 14, where after the warning against worshiping the beast and his mark, the patience of the commandment-keeping saints, the blessing on those who die in the Lord, and the Son of man on a white cloud reaping the ripe earth, the fully ripe clusters of the vine of the earth are gathered and trodden outside the city until blood stands as high as horses’ bridles for sixteen hundred furlongs. It is the terrible final judgment of God’s wrath falling on the wicked in their rebellion, when a world standing on the brink of perdition is shown the ruin of building on an unstable foundation. It belongs to the everlasting gospel and threefold message that mark Christ’s church at His appearing, the last message of mercy to be proclaimed before the Lord comes to reap the harvest of the earth. Its judgments are speedily coming and just upon us, when trouble will soon bring blood flowing in streams deep enough to reach horses’ bridles in the awful purging of rebels. Those who have heard these special warnings are therefore to unite in proclaiming them to the cities, to meditate on this harvest and judgment in preparation for Christ’s appearing, and to get ready, get ready, get ready.
Place in Revelation's Message
The winepress trodden without the city closes the harvest sequence of Revelation 14, which follows the third angel's warning against worshiping the beast and receiving his mark, the patience of the saints who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, and the blessing pronounced on the dead who die in the Lord. In that sequence the Son of man is seen on a white cloud with a golden crown and a sharp sickle, reaping when the earth is ripe, and then the clusters of the vine of the earth are gathered and cast into the great winepress of the wrath of God. That closing act is the last reaping of the harvest of the earth at His coming.
The chapter presents the everlasting gospel in a threefold message that distinguishes Christ's church at the time of His appearing, kept by those who keep God's commandments and have the faith of Jesus. It is the last message of mercy to be proclaimed before the Lord comes, and immediately after its proclamation the Son of man is seen coming in glory to reap the harvest of the earth. That close of the third angel's warning was given when Christ entered the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary to perform the closing work of the atonement.
Within that chapter the first angel's announcement of judgment was preached by Miller and his associates, who did not recognize the further messages that were still to be given before the Lord's advent. The second angel's warning began to apply especially to the churches in the United States in 1844, but the fall of Babylon was not complete then. It will culminate as churches across Christendom increasingly join with the world and reject the truths for that time. The verse stands as part of the prophecies of Revelation 12 to 18 that are being fulfilled now, as the last message of warning that all are to hear. It stands before the very last call to the churches in chapter 18 and before the time pictured in chapter 19 when the beast and the false prophet are taken and cast into the lake of fire, the dragon is bound and cast into the bottomless pit for a thousand years, followed by the resurrection of the wicked and the final destruction of Satan and all the wicked, and the final triumph and reign of Christ in this earth.
Winepress Judgment and Call
The verse depicts the final judgment as the great winepress of God's wrath, when the fully ripe grapes of the earth and the clusters of the vine of the earth are gathered and the press is trodden outside the city. Blood comes out of the winepress as high as horses' bridles, for a distance of sixteen hundred furlongs. The winepress follows the harvest of the earth and the gathering of the fully ripe grapes, showing the judgment that falls on the wicked after their rebellion. It is the last act of the harvest of the earth at the coming of the Son of man on a white cloud with a golden crown and sharp sickle, when the earth is reaped and the clusters are cast into the press.
It is a solemn picture of the terrible judgment that will come when God's wrath breaks upon the world. That world stands on the brink of perdition, and the judgment exposes the ruin of those who have built their lives on an unstable foundation. The judgments of Almighty God are speedily coming and are just upon us. Trouble will soon come to this land and blood will flow in streams so deep as to reach the bridles of horses. It will be an awful time in which rebels must and will be purged out.
The verse belongs with the promise of Christ to come again, the resurrection of life and of damnation, the deliverance of God's people, the saints possessing the kingdom, and the final judgment from the books ending in the lake of fire. Together they are given as the reason for being Seventh-day Adventists. The verse stands among the special warning messages of Revelation 14 that have called God's people out from the world. These messages are to be unitedly proclaimed in cooperation with God because Christ is coming soon. God has a solemn work to be done in proclaiming them to the people of the cities, where much more still needs to be done than has yet been done, and they are not secondary to medical missionary work.
Those who have heard these messages must come to their senses and gain an experience very different from that of the Jewish nation that rejected Christ. They must make their lives an expression of genuine faith and spirituality. They are to make the verse together with the preceding harvest verses and chapter 15 the subject of meditation in preparation for Christ's appearing. All must get ready, get ready, get ready.