The other day, my kids were marveling at the various cloud shapes. One of them blurted out that they wanted to sit on a cloud. I chuckled and said it wouldn’t work very well, as they would fall right through! Well, Jesus will sit on a cloud - without falling through - before He harvests the earth.
Revelation 14:14-20 14 I looked, and there before me was a white
cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man with a
crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 Then
another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who
was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to
reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” 16 So
he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth
was harvested.
17 Another angel came out of the temple in heaven,
and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 Still another
angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a
loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, “Take your sharp sickle and
gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine, because its grapes are
ripe.” 19 The angel swung his sickle on the earth,
gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s
wrath. 20 They were trampled in the
winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press,
rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.
This final harvest marks the end of the world and the
judgment of all people. Jesus, the son of man on the cloud with the sharp
sickle, will harvest the earth and collect His children. He will separate the
wheat from the weeds (Matthew 13:24-43). These redeemed children will join Him
for eternal life in God’s perfect kingdom, the new Jerusalem.
In contrast, the angel with the sharp sickle will harvest the
earth and collect the rebellious for eternal judgment. Grapes represent
unbelievers or those who reject God and Jesus. They will be trampled and
tormented outside the new Jerusalem. This torment in burning sulfur (Rev 14:10)
will continue forever (Rev 14:11), as we read last week (also in Matthew 13:42).
