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.
15. another angel ] It is probably not relevant to argue that in classical Greek this would not necessarily imply that the previously named Person is an Angel, even if “another” is meant to distinguish the Angel from Him. But comparing Rev 14:6, it appears that the angel may be called “another” simply to distinguish him from those of Rev 14:6 ; Rev 14:8-9: and then no inference whatever can be drawn as to the figure of Rev 14:14.
out of the temple ] See Rev 11:19, and note on Rev 4:6.
Thrust in ] Lit. send, as in St Mar 4:29, where “putteth in” should be “sendeth forth” (the Greek word is not the same as here, but there is hardly any difference in sense). It may be implied, that the Son of Man does not reap Himself cf. St Mat 24:31. See on the next verse.
is ripe ] Lit. is dried; hence R. V. “is over-ripe”; possibly a more literal translation than St Mark’s, l.c., of our Lord’s words in the parable, to which there is probably a reference.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And another angel – The fourth in order, Rev 14:6, Rev 14:8-9.
Came out of the temple – See the notes on Rev 11:19. Came, as it were, from the immediate presence of God; for the temple was regarded as his unique dwelling-place.
Crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud – To the Messiah, Rev 14:14. That is, the command was borne directly from God by the angel to the Messiah, to go forth and reap the great harvest of the world. It is not a command of the angel, but a command from God the Father to the Son. This is in accordance with all the representations in the New Testament, that the Son, as Messiah or Redeemer, is subordinate to the Father, and performs the work which has been given him to do. See Joh 3:16-17; Joh 5:19; Joh 10:18; Joh 12:49; Joh 14:31. Compare the notes on Rev 1:1.
Thrust in thy sickle, and reap – Into the great harvest of the world.
For the time is come for thee to reap – That is, the harvest which thou art to reap is ripe; the seed which thou hast sown has grown up; the earth which thou hast cultivated has produced this golden grain, and it is fit that thou shouldst now gather it in. This language is appropriately addressed to the Son of God, for all the fruits of righteousness on the earth may be regarded as the result of his culture.
For the harvest of the earth is ripe – The harvest in reference to the righteous – fruit of the good seed sown by the Saviour and his apostles and ministers. The time alluded to here is the end of the world, when the affairs of earth shall be about to he wound up. The design is to state that the Redeemer will then gather in a great and glorious harvest, and by this assurance to sustain the hearts of his people in times of trial and persecution.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 15. Thrust in thy sickle] Execute the judgments which God has decreed.
For the harvest of the earth is ripe.] The cup of the people’s iniquity is full.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Most interpreters understand this of the prayers of Gods people, from the church, soliciting the Lord Jesus Christ (say some) to gather in the Jews, or the number of his elect, the fields being now white to that harvest, (as Christ useth the metaphor of the Samaritans, Joh 4:35), or, (as others say, with whom I rather agree), to execute vengeance on antichrist and his adherents.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
15. Thrust inGreek,“Send.” The angel does not command the “Son of man”(Re 14:14), but is the meremessenger announcing to the Son the will of God the Father, inwhose hands are kept the times and the seasons.
thy sicklealluding toMr 4:29, where also it is”sendeth the sickle.” The Son sends Hissickle-bearing angel to reap the righteous when fully ripe.
harvestthe harvestcrop. By the harvest-reaping the elect righteous are gatheredout; by the vintage the Antichristian offenders are removedout of the earth, the scene of Christ’s coming kingdom. The Son ofman Himself, with a golden crown, is introduced in theharvest-gathering of the elect, a mere angel in the vintage(Re 14:18-20).
is ripeliterally, “isdried.” Ripe for glory.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And another angel came out of the temple,…. Not the Holy Spirit, who, being God omniscient, knows the day and hour of judgment, which is a secret to men and angels, as Napier thinks; since though he dwells in the church as his temple, yet is never called an angel; nor does this angel represent the souls under the altar, who come out from thence, and importunately desire vengeance on the inhabitants of the earth, the worshippers of the beast, who had shed their blood; but rather the mighty angels who shall descend from heaven with Christ, and who shall be employed by him as reapers, to gather in his elect from the four winds, as well as to bind up the tares in bundles, and burn them; unless a set of Gospel ministers, as before, should be intended, who either by divine revelation, or by the signs of the time being come, and observed by them, will know that the harvest, or end of the world, is come; since this angel is said to come out of the temple, the church, which had been measured, and was now opened in heaven, and from whence angels are said to come, Re 11:1
crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud: as the first and third angels did, Re 14:7 denoting great vehemence and importunity: thrust in thy sickle, and reap: which being spoken by an inferior angel, whether this designs the ministering spirits, or preachers of the word, must be understood not as commanding, nor even directing what should be done, but as beseeching and entreating: see Ps 132:8. Dr. Lightfoot thinks, and not without reason, that there is here some allusion to the putting in of the sickle, and reaping the first corn in Judea, at the feast of the passover, by the order of the sanhedrim, which sat in the temple; nor did any reap till they had the word given them, “reap”, by the messengers of the court, called , “the angels”, or messengers “of the sanhedrim”: to whom the reaper said, shall I reap? and they say to him, a, “reap”: the reasons follow:
for the time is come for thee to reap; the time of the end of the world, and of the judgment of it, which is fixed by God; and of Christ’s coming to judge both quick and dead, and of the first resurrection, or the resurrection of the saints:
for the harvest of the earth is ripe: the measure of the sins of wicked men will now be filled up, and the afflictions of the saints will be accomplished in them, and the number of God’s elect will be completed in the effectual calling; they will be all called, and so things will be ripe for the second coming of Christ. There seems to be some reference to Joe 3:13 “put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe”: the Jewish doctors ask b, to whom is this said? R. Phineas, in the name of R. Hilkiah, says, , “to the angels”; so the mighty ones, in Re 14:11 are by Kimchi interpreted of the angels.
a Misn. Menachot, c. 10. sect. 3. b Yalkut Simeoni, par. 2. fol. 92. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Send forth (). First aorist (urgency) active imperative of . “Thrust in thy sickle now,” this angel urges Christ.
And reap ( ). First aorist (urgency) active imperative of , old verb (from , summer), as in Mt 6:26. See verse 7 for “the hour is come.” (to reap) is epexegetical infinitive (first aorist active of ).
The harvest ( ). Old, but rare word (from , to harvest), as in Matt 13:30; John 4:35, here only in Revelation.
Is over-ripe (). First aorist (prophetic as in Rev 10:17; Rev 15:1) passive of (cf. Jas 1:11), to wither, to dry up. Perhaps just “ripe,” not “over-ripe.” Cf. Joe 1:17.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “And another angel came out of the temple,” (kai allos angelos ekselthen ek tou naou) “And another angel went forth out of the temple (shrine),” from the very throne of God, ministering to God, His Son, and his servants, Heb 1:14.
2) “Crying with aloud voice,” (krazon en phone megale) “Repeatedly crying with a megaphone-like voice; in a voice of sanction, praise, and appeal, as in Rev 5:11-14.
3) “To him that sat on the cloud,” (to kathemeno epi tes nephales) “To him who sat upon the cloud,” the Son of Man, heir (redeemer) of mankind and the earth; Rev 1:7; Rev 5:9-10.
4) “Thrust in thy sickle and reap,” (pempson to drepanon sou kai therison) “Sway or swing in thy sickle and reap,” the harvest. Psa 126:5-6. Ere the harvest is over all the wheat shall be gathered; only chaff will be burned. Mat 3:12.
5) “For the time is come for thee to reap,” (hoti elthen he hora therisai) “Because the hour (came) has come to reap,” Mat 13:39, to receive the fruit of his purchased possession, Joh 3:16; Heb 2:9-15. The Father keeps the times in his own hand, Act 1:7; Gal 4:4-5.
6) “For the harvest of the earth is ripe,” (hoti ekseranthe ho therismos tes ges) “Because the harvest (grain) of the land is dried or (ripe),” ready to be harvested, Mar 4:29; Joh 4:34-38.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(15) And another angel . . .Translate, And another angel came forth out of the temple, &c. It has been asked, What harvest is this? It is the gathering of the good seed, the full corn in the ear, into the celestial garner (Mar. 4:26-29). The angel who announces that the harvest is ready comes forth from the Temple, the inner shrine, the holy place which was measured off in the sanctuary of the faithful (Rev. 11:1); whereas the angel who calls for the vintage comes forth from the altar (Rev. 14:18).
The angel criesPut forth (or, send) thy sickle and reap, because the hour is come to reap, because the harvest of the earth is ripe (or, dried); the wheat stalks are dry, and the fields white for harvest (Joh. 4:35). The sickle was put in: the earth was reaped.
THE VINTAGE.
There must be some difference between the vintage and the harvest. There is an autumn gladness about the harvest: there are tokens of judgment in the vintage. It is not the sharp sickle alone which is required: the winepress, the winepress of Gods wrath, is called into use. An angel from the Temple calls to the Son of man to reap the harvest: an angel from the altar calls to an angel from the Temple to gather in the vintage. The vintage symbolises a harvest of judgment; do not the words respecting Babylon (the wine of the wrath of her fornication, Rev. 14:8) come to the mind and confirm this? The angel rises from the altar, beneath which the murdered saints had cried, How long? and proclaims, The vintage, the hour of vengeance, has come! And it is not without significance that the angel to whom this cry is addressed comes forth out of the Temple, the safe sanctuary of Gods faithful ones, as one who has witnessed their secret sorrows and their sufferings, and is fitted to recompense tribulation to the troublers of Israel (2Th. 1:6).
(17) And another angel . . .Translate, And another angel, . . . having himself also (as well as the Son of man, Rev. 14:14) a sharp sickle.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
15. Another angel Besides the three menacing-angels above described.
Out of the temple Still at Jerusalem.
Crying The angel superintendent of the Lord’s field pronounces the harvest to be ripe. The earth, or land, was reaped. It takes but a single thrust of that sickle!
‘And another angel came out of the Temple, crying with a great voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Send forth your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come and the harvest of the earth is dried up (overripe)”.’
The angel comes from the Temple of God with direct instructions from Him Who sits on the throne. Everything has its time, and even the Son of Man may not act before the time (compare 1Co 4:5). The great voice, as always, emphasises the importance of what is about to happen.
‘Send forth your sickle and reap.’ The words are reminiscent of Joe 3:13. ‘There will I sit to judge all the nations round about. Put in the sickle and reap, for the harvest is ripe, come, tread, for the winepress is full, the fats overflow, for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision, for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision’. This then is the judgment of the nations in Mat 25:31-46. The righteous have been gathered ‘on the right hand’, on the heavenly Mount Zion (Rev 14:1-5 see Joe 3:17) to enjoy eternal life, and those who are remain are gathered on the left hand and will be reaped and thrown into the winepress of God’s wrath.
‘The hour to reap has come’. Everything has its hour, a concept which is a favourite of John’s. Jesus had His hour when He went to the cross (Joh 7:30; Joh 8:20; Joh 12:23; Joh 12:27; Joh 13:1; Joh 17:1 compare Mat 26:45; Mar 14:35). The earth must face its hour of trial (Rev 3:10). The ten kings of the beast will have their hour (Rev 17:12). Great Babylon will have its hour (Rev 18:10; Rev 18:17; Rev 18:19). Now has come God’s final hour, it is the hour of judgment.
‘The harvest of the earth is dried up (overripe).’ The good fruit and the good harvest has already been gathered in (Rev 14:1-5). What was left is now gathered in, overripe and useless, fit only to be burned. Their fruit is not edible. It is ‘the harvest of the earth ’ contrasted with the heavenly harvest of Rev 14:1-5.
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.
Ver. 15. Thrust in thy sickle ] This is not a command, but a request of the faithful, which is soon fulfilled. It is like that of the Church, Psa 102:3 ; “Arise, O Lord, and have mercy upon Zion; for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come.”
Rev 14:15 . , as in Rev 14:6 . The alternatives are ( a ) to translate “another, an angel” ( ) which might be the sense of the Greek ( cf. Od. i. 132, Clem. Protrept . ix. 87. 3) but is harsh, or ( b ) to take the figure of Rev 14:14 as an angel (Porter) and not as the messiah at all (which, in the face of Rev 1:13 , is difficult). The subordinate and colourless character of the messiah is certainly puzzling, and tells against the Christian authorship of the passage. Messiah is summoned to his task by an angel, and even his task is followed up by another angel’s more decisive interference. He seems an angelic figure ( cf. on Rev 19:17 ), perhaps primus interpares among the angels (so En. xlvi. 1: “and I saw another being [ i.e. , the Son of Man] whose countenance had the appearance of a man, and his face was full of graciousness, like one of the holy angels”). The conception was inconsistent with John’s high Christology, but he may have retained it, like so much else, for its poetic effect, or as part of a time-honoured apocalyptic tradition. That the messiah should receive divine instructions through one of his comrades (Heb 1:6 ; Heb 1:9 ; cf. Zec 2:3-4 ) was perhaps not stranger than that he should require an angel in order to communicate with men (Rev 1:1 ). . . . The double figure of judgment (harvest and vintage) is copied from the poetic parallelism of Joe 3:13 ; the independent rendering of by and , and the change of agent from messiah (Rev 14:14-16 ) to an angel (Rev 14:17-20 , so Mat 13:39 f.), show that the writer is using the Hebrew of that passage (where God does the reaping).
out of. App-104.
Temple. Greek. naos. See Rev 3:12 and Mat 23:16.
Him That sat. literally The One sitting.
Thrust in. App-174.
time = hour.
for Thee. Omit.
ripe. Literally dried up.
Rev 14:15.[168] , of the earth) Thus also Rev 14:18, in the vintage. The earth is not here used in contradistinction to the sea: but yet the amplitude of this word is restricted in Rev 14:20 by the city.
[168] , is dried) having attained to ripeness, in a good sense, for reaping. Matters at the present day reach very close to this point; and the things which remain scarcely admit of further increase.-V. g.
angel
(See Scofield “Heb 1:4”).
came: Rev 16:17
crying: Rev 6:10, Isa 62:1, Isa 62:6, Isa 62:7
Thrust: Rev 14:14
harvest: Rev 13:12, Jer 51:33, Joe 3:13, Mat 13:30, Mat 13:39
ripe: or, dried, Rev 14:18, Gen 15:6, Zec 5:6-11, Mat 23:32, 1Th 2:16
Reciprocal: Isa 17:5 – as when Isa 34:2 – the indignation Jer 27:7 – until Dan 11:35 – even Hos 6:11 – he hath Rev 10:1 – another Rev 11:19 – the temple Rev 14:17 – came Rev 18:2 – cried
Rev 14:15. Another angel is said because angels have been named previously in this chapter, and because those heavenly beings are so often em-ployed to act as attendants upon the Lord or sometimes upon other angels as will be done yet in this chapter. There are to be two kinds of crops gathered on the day of judgment as generally happens after any growing season. One kind is the good and the other is the bad, and they are always separated one from the other and different dispositions made of them. In the present case the good is represented in the ordinary phraseology of a good harvest which implies sheaves of grain. The bad is represented by grapes which we have just seen above symbolize the wrath of God upon the wicked. The attending angel signalled to Him who was on the cloud to use his sickle to gather the ripe harvest.
Rev 14:16. The One on the white cloud did as requested and gathered the grain. The reader will understand this represents the good among mankind.
Comments by Foy E. Wallace
Verses 15-16.
2. The Son of man employs the ministry of angels to execute his will. One angel came out of the temple and signaled to the One on the cloud to thrust in thy sickle and reap. This was not an order from a superior voice, but the signal for the reaping to begin. It was significant that this angel came out of the temple–symbolizing the sanctuary that had been the object of destruction and desecration in the war against the Jews, which resulted in the fall of Jerusalem.
The voice of the angel proclaimed: the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. (Rev 14:15) This angelic pronouncement signified that the events had approached the end–not the end of time but the end of Jerusalem, of the Jewish state, and of Judaism–and this doom was signified in the declaration: And the earth was reaped–Rev 14:16.
Rev 14:15-16. The fourth angel of the chapter now appears, and cries with a great voice to him that sat upon the cloud that the hour is come to reap. The message is from God, for the Son knows not the hour Himself (Mar 13:32; comp. Act 1:7), and no sooner is the message heard than the Divine will is recognised and obeyed: the earth was reaped. The angel it will be observed performs no part of the act of reaping. That act is performed wholly by Him that sat on the cloud. At Rev 14:19 it will be different. The question is interesting and important, Whether we are to understand by this harvest the ingathering of the righteous alone (thus separating it by a broad line of distinction from the vintage which immediately follows) or a general reaping of the wicked as well as of the good. The analogy of Scripture as well as the mode in which the passage before us is conceived point distinctly to the former view. The good are alone the true harvest, the wheat gathered into the garner. At Joh 14:3 Jesus comes for His own, while at Mat 13:41 the angels gather in the wicked to their fate.
In the fifteenth verse we have a manifestation of the church’s fervent desire that Christ would make speed, and hasten his work, and come quickly to judgment, both for the consummation of their glory, and for the destruction of his own and their enemies: Thrust in thy sickle, and reap, for the harvest is ripe; that is, it is full time to execute thy judgment on the wicked, for their sins (which call for these judgments) are now come to the height.
Behold here Christ’s day of judgment is like a day of harvest; when the corn is ripe, the sickle is got ready; when the sickle is got ready, it is set to work; when it is set to work, it cuts down all, wheat and tares, corn and grass, without discrimination; but the Lord of the harvest soon commands a separation to be made of the good grain from the tares, of the righteous form the wicked, laying up the former in the granary of heaven, binding up the latter for the fire of hell.
-16 God dwells in his temple. This angel comes out from the temple shouting the command of the Father. Since he alone knows some seasons, particularly the time of the end, it is appropriate that he should direct Jesus when to begin the harvest. ( Act 1:7 ; Mat 24:36 ) The word “ripe” carries the idea of dried, as when the growing period is over, and ready for harvest. Jesus, of course, does as the Father directs.
14:15 {13} 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.
(13) Christ gives a commandment in this verse, and the angel executes it in Rev 14:16 .
Another angel (cf. Rev 14:9) came out of the opened heavenly temple (cf. Rev 11:19; Rev 15:5) and announced that the time to judge those living on the earth had arrived. Three previous angels (Rev 14:6-7; Rev 14:9) announced that judgment was coming, and now this one conveyed the command to execute it without delay. The harvest was "ripe" (Gr. exeranthe). Some scholars take this word as describing an over-ripe harvest and others simply a ripe one. The earth-dwellers during this late stage in the Tribulation were ready for judgment (cf. Rev 19:11-21). Some believe that this is a judgment of believers. [Note: E.g., Alford, 4:691-92; et al.] But this runs counter to the context (Rev 14:1-5; Rev 14:12-13), which is a judgment of unbelievers (cf. Joe 3:13).
"The harvest is an OT figure used for divine judgment (Hos 6:11; Joe 3:13), especially on Babylon (Jer 51:33). Jesus also likens the final judgment to the harvest of the earth (Mat 13:30; Mat 13:39)." [Note: Johnson, p. 543.]
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)