REAPING THE HARVEST

The climax to John’s visions approaches swiftly as he describes the reaping of the harvest of the Son of Man by angels from the heavenly temple. In the Old Testament harvest and vintage were frequently used as symbols of divine judgment, either of God’s own people Israel or of their enemies. John also believed that such a judgment was about to happen or had already occurred. He wrote about this to reveal the final choice confronting his fellow Christians.

In 14:14 the presence of “one like a son of man sitting on a cloud” is a figure drawn from the gospel tradition (Mark 13:27; Matt. 24:31) and earlier Hebrew apocalyptic literature. Vss. 15-16 indicate that it is Christ himself who is doing the harvesting (i.e. judging).

In vss. 17-19 another angel is bidden to join in the vintage harvest. The vine was a traditional symbol for Israel in the Old Testament. In the Gospel of John 15:1-8, the symbol is applied to the Christian Church. The location of the winepress “outside the city” refers to the place of the crucifixion. By using these several images John found a unique way of telling his friends that Christ who turned the tragedy of the cross into victory over sin and death can transform the shambles of their martyrdom into a glorious celebration of harvest.

Other important symbols can be found in this passage. The golden crown worn by the Son of Man (vs. 14), the three angels from the temple and the altar (vss. 15-18), and the river of blood (vs. 20) all represent the faith that the sacrifice of Christ himself and of the martyrs is God’s judgment that will ultimately establish God’s sovereignty which the martyrs will share with Christ. Puzzling as this may seem to us, it is a profound declaration of faith for difficult times.