Solomon said this,
1 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven— 2 A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted. 3 A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up. (Ecclesiastes 3:1–3)
We’ve reached “such a time is this,” but it’s one-sided; a time to “to die, to uproot, to kill, and to tear down.” These are the actions of a just God, even so, a patient God, who would forestall his vengeance this long despite the circumstances.
14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.” 16 Then He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped. (Revelation 14:14–16)
It’s interesting that an angel makes the call to the Lord to swing his “sharp” sickle. Then another angel appears with his own “sharp” sickle and is urged by another angel with “power over fire” to swing his, and he does. At this point, it appears that the order’s already been given from the throne to reap, and the angels are simply following through, even to the point that they appear to be directing God!
17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. 18 Then another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.” 19 So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God. 20 And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles. (Revelation 14:17–20)
The imagery switches from harvesting wheat to grapes of wrath, and the blood that is pressed therefrom reaches as high as the horses’ bridles, meaning likely that it splashes up to that level. What is depicted here is likely the final battle of Armageddon fought from that valley south to Edom, some 200 miles away (for example, from Tampa to Miami). This is a gruesome and gory end, but necessary to set the stage for the return of the King, who is coming on its heels!
I recall the previous complaint of the martyred saints now safely under “the altar” of God in heaven, “and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (Revelation 6:10)
Their wait is finally over.
. . .
Note: Chapter 14 is an outline of sorts of the major events at the end of the Age: (1) the appearance of the godly remnant of Israel; (2) a testimony to Gentiles; (3) the fall of Babylon; (4) the doom of the worshipers of the beast; (5) the blessedness of saints who are martyred; (6) the harvest; (7) the wrath of God on the world. (William Kelly, Lectures on the Book of Revelation, p. 330, offered by Walvoord, J. F. (1985) in his commentary on Revelation, in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 965). Victor Books.)
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