The sickle symbolizes a harvest — God's sovereign reaping of the earth and the nations.
Les Feldick explains that the sickle was the tool used to harvest grain, so in Revelation 14 it is 'a symbolic word for harvesting.' The one sitting on the cloud — an allusion to Christ — is told to thrust in His sickle because the harvest of the earth is ripe. This reaping is God's sovereign gathering of the world's armies into the Middle East.
Revelation 14:14-16 — The vision of the Son of man holding a sharp sickle and reaping the earth is the central sickle passage.
Revelation 14:17-18 — A second sharp sickle gathers the vine of the earth — the fully ripe grapes — completing the harvest symbolism.
Revelation 14:14-18 (KJV) presents the sickle imagery: 'And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire, and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.' The text itself does not define what the sickle represents; it uses the tool as the instrument of reaping. The passage frames two harvest images — the reaping of the earth like ripened grain and the gathering of the vine of the earth like fully ripe grapes — and leaves the interpretation to the reader.
Les Feldick teaches that the sharp sickle in Revelation 14 is primarily a harvest symbol. He points to the agrarian world: 'they used to use the sickle, of course, to harvest the grain,' and therefore 'the sickle here is a symbolic word for harvesting.' He also identifies the one seated on the white cloud: 'I have to feel that this is an allusion to Christ. He is the one that is about to reap this harvest.' For Les, this harvest is not merely an agricultural picture. When verse 16 says 'the earth was reaped,' he connects it to Revelation 16, where 'the call goes to all the nations of the world to bring your armies and your air forces to the Middle East.' He states plainly: 'That's the reaping that the sovereign God is bringing about.' The earth being reaped, he says, is 'men, humanity' — gathered into the Middle East 'under military auspices, of course.' Les also explains the second sickle and the vine of the earth. The grapes are 'fully ripe' — in Greek, he says, it means 'overripe,' 'really past harvest time.' This is 'symbolic language, of course, of God gathering the residue of humanity that is still living, gathering them there in the Middle East, under military auspices.' Just as gathered grapes are put into the vat to be crushed and the juice taken out, the imagery points to what is to come. He reminds his listeners that Revelation 'is always in symbolic language, but every symbolism has a literal truth.'
Les Feldick says of Revelation 14:14: 'I have to feel that this is an allusion to Christ. He is the one that is about to reap this harvest.' He observes that the angel from the temple cries to the one on the cloud, 'Thrust in thy sickle,' and verse 16 records the result: 'he that sat on the cloud, thrust in his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.' This identification of the cloud-sitter as Christ is Les's interpretation; the passage itself says only that he is 'like unto the Son of man.'
Les ties verse 16 directly to Revelation 16: 'You remember what we just saw back in chapter 16, how the call goes to all the nations of the world to bring your armies and your air forces to the Middle East? All right, that's the reaping that the sovereign God is bringing about.' He is equally direct about who is being reaped: 'the earth' that is reaped means 'men, humanity,' gathered there in the Middle East 'under military auspices, of course.'
The second sickle gathers 'the clusters of the vine of the earth' because 'her grapes are fully ripe' (Revelation 14:18). Les says the Greek behind 'fully' is stronger — it means 'overripe' — 'it's really past harvest time.' He sees the vine-and-grape language as 'symbolic language, of course, of God gathering the residue of humanity that is still living, gathering them there in the Middle East, under military auspices.' He adds that the gathered grapes are put into the vat where they can be crushed and the juice taken out — the symbolism of what happens to the earth's vine after it is reaped.
Les describes the flat valleys of Israel — the Jordan Valley, the Plains of Sharon, and especially the Valley of Megiddo (also called the Valley of Esdraelon) — as the low-lying level areas where ancient armies fought. He says 'all these nations of the world will be sending their armies to that area, and by, I think, a sovereign act of God, they're going to get packed in to that valley, into that very huge flat plain.' This concentration of military forces is the reaping that the sickle pictures.
Flat Valleys of Israel and Megiddo
Les introduces the flat, low-lying valleys of Israel — including the Valley of Megiddo/Esdraelon — which become the stage where the world's armies will be gathered.
Sickle = Harvest Symbol; Christ on the Cloud
Les explains that the sharp sickle is a symbolic word for harvesting — the tool used to harvest grain — and identifies the one on the cloud as an allusion to Christ who is about to reap.
The Reaping and the Nations' Armies
Les connects 'the earth was reaped' to Revelation 16's call for all nations to bring their armies and air forces to the Middle East — this is the reaping the sovereign God brings about.
Harvest Ripe and the Sovereign God
Les notes the Greek behind 'ripe' is stronger — almost past harvest time — as the sovereign God enters the picture and the vine of the earth is gathered.
The Earth Reaped Means Humanity
Les plainly states that the earth being reaped means men, humanity — gathered into the Middle East under military auspices — and that the vine gathering is symbolic of God gathering the residue of living humanity.
Armies Packed into Megiddo
Les shows how the world's armies will be sent to the flat plain of Megiddo/Esdraelon and, by a sovereign act of God, packed into that valley; he then reads the sickle as harvest imagery.
Overripe Grapes and the Wine Vat
Les explains that 'fully ripe' in Greek means overripe — past harvest time — and that the gathered grapes are put into the vat to be crushed, a picture central to the vine-of-the-earth symbolism.
Revelation's Symbolic Language
Les reminds readers that Revelation is always in symbolic language, yet every symbolism has a literal truth — a caution that governs how the sickle should be interpreted.
Revelation 14:14: And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
This is the core image: the Son of man with a golden crown and a sharp sickle.
Revelation 14:15: And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
The angel commands the reaping — 'the harvest of the earth is ripe.'
Revelation 14:16: And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.
The sickle is thrust in and the earth is reaped — the result of the command.
Revelation 14:17: And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
A second sickle emerges from the temple in heaven, extending the harvest imagery.
Revelation 14:18: And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire, and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
The third angel announces the vine of the earth — 'her grapes are fully ripe.'
No. Les Feldick explains that the sickle is 'a symbolic word for harvesting' — the tool that was used to harvest grain. The sharp sickle pictures the harvest that is about to be reaped, not a literal weapon used in battle.
In Les's teaching, the harvest is God's sovereign reaping of the nations. He connects 'the earth was reaped' to Revelation 16, where the call goes out to all nations to bring their armies and air forces to the Middle East. The earth that is reaped, he says, is men, humanity.
Les says, 'I have to feel that this is an allusion to Christ. He is the one that is about to reap this harvest.' An angel from the temple cries to Him, 'Thrust in thy sickle,' and verse 16 records that the earth was reaped.
Les says the Greek word behind 'fully' means overripe — 'really past harvest time.' The vine of the earth is gathered, just as grapes are gathered and put into the vat to be crushed. He sees this as God gathering the residue of humanity that is still living into the Middle East.
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