Revelation Now :
Daily Devotional Bible Studies in Revelation
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The Angel from the Temple : Day 54 
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." So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested. Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 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. " The angel swung his sickle upon the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath. 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 *1600 stadia. (Revelation 14.15-20) *about 180 miles
Harvesting
This picture goes on to depict judgment in terms of "the harvest". When Joel wished to say that judgment was near, he said: "Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe" (1). "When the grain is ripe," said Jesus, "at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come" (2); and in the parable of the wheat and the tares Jesus uses the harvest as a picture of judgment (3).
The Great Winepress
This passage depicts judgment in terms of "the winepress", which consisted of an upper and a lower trough connected by a channel. The troughs might be hollowed out in the rock or they might be built of brick. The grapes were put into the upper trough which was on a slightly higher level. They were then trampled with the feet and the juice flowed down the connecting channel into the lower trough. Often in the Old Testament, God's judgment is likened to the trampling of the grapes."The Lord flouted all my mighty men in the midst of me . . . the Lord has trodden as in a winepress the virgin daughter of Judah" (4). "I have trodden the winepress alone; and from the peoples no one was with me, I trod them in my anger, and trampled them in my wrath. Their lifeblood is sprinkled upon my garments" (5).
Here, then, we have judgment depicted in the two familiar figures of "the harvest" and of "the winepress". To this is added another familiar picture. The "wine press" is to be trodden outside the city, that is, Jerusalem. Both in the Old Testament and in the books between the Testaments there was a line of thought which held that the Gentiles would be brought to Jerusalem and judged there. Joel has a picture of all the nations gathered into the valley of Jehoshaphat and judged there (6). Zechariah has an account of a last attack of the Gentiles on Jerusalem and of their judgment there (7).
Up to a Horses Bridle
The one like a son of man reaps and also an angel reaps. We may regard the one like the son of man, the risen and victorious Lord, reaping the harvest of his own people, while the angel with the sharp sickle reaps the harvest of those destined for judgment. It is said that the blood came "up to the horses' bridles" and spread for a distance of sixteen hundred "stades" or "furlongs". Sixteen hundred "stades" is almost exactly the length of Palestine from north to south; and this would mean that the tide of judgment would flow over and include the whole land. In that case the figure would symbolically describe the completeness of the judgment.
Words to meditate on
What is the best thing you will take into Heaven?
Words to pray
"Heaven, Heaven, Heaven is a place for those who love the Lord" (8)
Notes
(1) Joel 3:13 (2) Mark 4:29 (3) Matthew 13:24-30; 37-43 (4) Lamentations 1:15 (5) Isaiah 63:3. (6) Joel 3:2, 12 (7) Zechariah 14:1-4 (8) Unknown
"The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place."