What does the reaping of the earth in Revelation 14:16 mean?
The reaping of the earth in Revelation 14:16 symbolizes the sovereign God bringing about the gathering of all nations—their armies and air forces—to the Middle East, as later described in chapter 16. Christ, the one sitting on the cloud, thrusts in His sickle, and the earth is reaped by this divine action.
Les explains that the communication in this passage is between the angel and Christ. The angel tells Christ to thrust in His sickle and reap. In verse 16, the one who sat on the cloud thrusts in His sickle on the earth, and the earth is reaped. Les then connects this reaping to what was seen back in chapter 16: the call goes to all the nations of the world to bring their armies and air forces to the Middle East. That, he says, is the reaping the sovereign God is bringing about. The next part of the vision shows another angel coming from the altar, who had power over fire, crying to the one with the sharp sickle to gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe. The word 'fully' in the Greek means overripe, indicating it is past harvest time. The grapes are gathered and put into the vat to be crushed, the juice taken out, and then fermented for wine. This symbolism reinforces the gathering-and-harvest theme of the reaping.
And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.
What is the reaping that God is doing in this passage?
The reaping is God's sovereign judgment: Christ thrusts in His sickle and the earth is reaped. Then another angel gathers the clusters of the vine of the earth, whose grapes are fully ripe—overripe—to be crushed in the vat. This reaping involves the nations being called to the Middle East.
In Revelation 16, what are the nations of the world called to bring to the Middle East?
Revelation 16 calls all the nations of the world to bring their armies and air forces to the Middle East. This call is described as the reaping that the sovereign God is bringing about, gathering the nations' military forces to that region.
More Questions
Who does the angel tell to "thrust in thy sickle and reap"?
In this sickle-reaping passage, the angel is speaking to Christ, telling Christ to thrust in the sickle and reap, and Christ is the one who reaps the earth.