The grapes being 'fully ripe' means they are overripe — past the proper harvest time — signaling that God's judgment of the gathered nations is not merely ready but overdue.
Les Feldick explains from the Greek that 'fully' carries the stronger sense of 'overripe' — really past harvest time. The symbolism pictures God gathering the armies of the world to the Middle East into the wine vat of His wrath. Ripeness shows the time has come; being overripe shows the time is actually overdue.
Revelation 14:18 — This verse contains the exact phrase 'her grapes are fully ripe' — the very words of the question.
The scene is set in Revelation 14:14, where John sees a white cloud and One like the Son of Man with a golden crown and a sharp sickle. An angel from the temple cries, 'Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe' (Revelation 14:15). Then another angel, coming from the altar with power over fire, cries to the One with the sharp sickle, 'Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe' (Revelation 14:18). The angel then thrusts his sickle into the earth, gathers the vine of the earth, and casts it into the great winepress of the wrath of God (Revelation 14:19). The winepress is trodden without the city, and blood comes out of it even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs (Revelation 14:20). Scripture names the gathering place in the Hebrew tongue 'Armageddon' (Revelation 16:16), and the Old Testament parallel pictures the Lord treading the winepress alone: 'I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury' (Isaiah 63:3).
Les Feldick emphasizes that the English word 'fully' is weaker than the Greek. The Greek word means 'overripe' — the grapes are really past harvest time [Clip 1]. He makes the same point about Revelation 14:15, where the Greek behind 'ripe' is a stronger word: 'It's more than ripe. It's just almost past harvest time' [Clip 2]. The situation, in other words, has reached its most overdue point. Les then unfolds the symbolism: the gathering of the ripe vineyard is the gathering of the remaining peoples of the earth and their armies to the Middle East — the Valley of Megiddo, the Valley of Esdraelon, the Jordan Valley, and the low-lying areas of Israel [Clips 3, 4, 5]. 'Now this is the analogy,' he says: 'God is harvesting the men, the people of the world into His wine vat' [Clip 4]. In ancient times, Les explains, grapes were crushed by people walking on them in the vat, because there were no hydraulic presses [Clips 4, 6]. That, he says, is exactly what God is doing with the peoples of the world [Clip 6]. Their crushing is the great winepress of the wrath of God [Clip 5], and Les identifies the instrument of destruction as the final plague of hailstones — hundred-pound hailstones that will squash the troops 'even as the grapes in the vat' [Clip 7]. The whole picture, he warns, is not beautiful — it is awful and beyond human comprehension [Clip 0].
Les Feldick explains that the Greek word translated 'fully' in Revelation 14:18 means 'overripe' — the grapes are really past harvest time [Clip 1]. He makes the same point about Revelation 14:15, where the Greek word behind 'ripe' is a little stronger: 'It's more than ripe. It's just almost past harvest time' [Clip 2]. The ripeness of the grapes therefore indicates not simply that the time has come, but that it is actually overdue.
Les is emphatic that Revelation 14:18 is symbolic language — 'we're talking in an analogy here' [Clips 2, 3]. The gathering of the clusters of the vine of the earth pictures God gathering 'the residue of humanity that is still living' and bringing them to the Middle East under military auspices [Clip 3]. The peoples of the earth and their armies are gathered 'just like a husbandman would gather his grapes' [Clip 4]. The gathering place is the Valley of Megiddo (Armageddon), the Valley of Esdraelon, the Jordan Valley, and other low-lying areas of Israel [Clips 0, 5].
Les explains that in the Bible's setting, grapes were gathered into a huge wine vat and crushed so the juice could be drained off and caught below. Because there were no hydraulic presses, two or three people would get into the vat and walk on the grapes, walking repeatedly until all the juice ran out [Clips 4, 6]. He notes that in the Middle East these great hewed-out stone vats can still be seen [Clip 6]. 'Now that's the illusion here,' he says, 'that this is exactly what God is doing with the peoples of the world' [Clip 6].
Les teaches that the very presence of God is going to come and crush the gathered armies as grapes in the vat [Clip 5]. He identifies the specific instrument as the final plague of hailstones: with millions of troops exposed in tents, a hundred-pound hailstone will squash them 'even as the grapes in the vat' [Clip 7]. He also ties the imagery to Isaiah 63, where the Lord treads the winepress alone [Clip 6], and to Revelation 14:20, where the winepress is trodden without the city [Clip 7].
Scripture records that the angel 'gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God' (Revelation 14:19). The winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out even unto the horse bridles for 1,600 furlongs (Revelation 14:20). The gathering place is called in the Hebrew tongue 'Armageddon' (Revelation 16:16), and the Old Testament parallel shows the Lord treading the winepress alone in His anger (Isaiah 63:3). The vine of the earth is not described as a literal agricultural crop — it is gathered and cast into the winepress of God's wrath.
The Sovereign God Gathers the Nations
Les sets the scene: a sovereign God forces the world's generals to pack their troops into the Valley of Megiddo like sardines in a can, and he identifies the One on the cloud with the sharp sickle as an allusion to Christ. This is the backdrop for understanding the ripe-grapes imagery, and Les warns the picture is awful and beyond human comprehension.
'Fully' Means Overripe
Les explains that the Greek word translated 'fully' in Revelation 14:18 means overripe — the grapes are really past harvest time — and that grapes were gathered into a vat to be crushed so the juice could be taken out.
More Than Ripe
Les notes that the Greek word behind 'ripe' in Revelation 14:15 is stronger than the English — 'more than ripe, just almost past harvest time' — and stresses that the sovereign God is coming into the picture in this analogy.
The Symbolic Gathering of Humanity
Les states plainly that the fully-ripe grapes are symbolic language of God gathering the residue of living humanity to the Middle East under military auspices.
Harvesting Men Into the Wine Vat
Les compares God harvesting the peoples of the earth to a husbandman gathering grapes, and explains the ancient practice of walking on grapes to press out the juice — the analogy of God harvesting men into His wine vat at Megiddo.
Crushed in the Great Winepress of Wrath
Les equates the wine vat with the valleys of Israel where armies will be packed like sardines in a can, and says the very presence of God will crush them as grapes — the great winepress of the wrath of God.
The Ancient Wine Vat
Les describes the hewed-out stone vats still visible in the Middle East and confirms that without hydraulic presses, people walked on grapes to squeeze out the juice — the image of what God is doing with the peoples of the world.
Trampled by Hundred-Pound Hailstones
Les concludes the analogy: as vineyard keepers trample grapes, God will trample the armies of the world, and he specifically identifies the means as the final plague of hundred-pound hailstones that will squash the troops even as grapes in the vat.
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.
The Son of Man sits on a white cloud holding the sharp sickle that begins the harvest scene.
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.
An angel declares the harvest of the earth is ripe and the time to reap has come.
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.
This is the verse at the heart of the question — the clusters of the vine of the earth are gathered because her grapes are fully ripe.
Revelation 14:19: And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
The gathered vine of the earth is cast into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
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.
The winepress is trodden outside the city, producing blood to the horse bridles — the result of the ripe-grape judgment.
Revelation 16:16: And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
Names the gathering place in the Hebrew tongue — Armageddon — the place Les connects to the gathered grapes.
Isaiah 63:3: I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.
Les references Isaiah 63 as the parallel Old Testament picture of treading the winepress in divine wrath.
Les Feldick explains that the Greek word translated 'fully' means overripe — the grapes are really past harvest time. The English word is weaker than the Greek, which carries the sense of being beyond the normal time of harvest.
The grapes symbolize the peoples of the earth and their armies. Les teaches that God gathers them to the Middle East — the Valley of Megiddo, the Valley of Esdraelon, the Jordan Valley, and other low-lying areas of Israel — just as a husbandman gathers grapes into a vat.
Les connects the crushing of the winepress to the final plague of hailstones. With the millions of troops exposed in tents, hundred-pound hailstones will squash them even as grapes are squashed in the vat.
No. Les stresses that this is symbolic language — 'we're talking in an analogy here.' The gathering of the vine of the earth pictures God gathering humanity for judgment, and the winepress is specifically called the great winepress of the wrath of God.
Watch the Teaching: What Really Happens at Armageddon — Revelation 16 & 19