Revelation 14:1-15:8
I was struck today by the beauty of the angels, the Lamb, the Son of Man, the heavenly worshipping bodies – in contrast to the past few days where we’ve seen evil in the person of Satan, the dragon, and the two beasts. Today was a much more fun read!!
Six different angels are mentioned in chapter 14, each with something different to say or do, then another seven angels come forth in chapter 15 with seven different tasks in chapter 16. One wonders how many angels there are in Heaven!
And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” So He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped. (vv. 14:15-16) Bible scholars disagree, some saying that evil is reaped while others say that Jesus’ followers are reaped. I agree with the latter, going back to Jesus’ references in the Synoptic gospels, And He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few… (Matthew 9:37, Luke 10:2a) and I tell you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ripe for harvest. (John 4:35b) Then, by contrast, in the following verses 17-20 it is clearly the evil that is being reaped, this time by an angel instead of the Son of Man. So it is Jesus who is bringing in His followers and angels who are reaping evil. Interesting.