Revelation 14:17-20

"And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having. sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with. loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of. thousand and six hundred furlongs."--14:17-20.

Bright is the sunrise of the eternal morning that has dawned upon the saints of all ages. But dark is the night that settles down forever on the enemies of God and the Lamb. Long have they defied his reign. with impunity, but the great day of accounts has now come. The righteous, the salt of the earth, have been gathered; the wicked nations that remain are vessels of wrath, fit for destruction. Another angel comes forth with. sickle in his hand. Christ was the great reaper of the righteous harvest. They that are Christ's are gathered by him at his coming, but the wicked are gathered by another, here presented as an angel reaper.

This angel, one that has power over fire, comes forth from the altar where fire was kept burning. Fire is an emblem of punishment, of destruction. He bids the angel who holds the sickle to begin his work, "to put forth his sickle and cut off the clusters of the vine of the earth, for they are ripe." Grapes are chosen as. symbol of the wicked because of their harmony with the figure that describes the fate of the wicked. They were cast into the wine-press, then trodden under foot, and from the bruised and bleeding mass ran red juice like blood. John now sees the great wine-press of the wrath of God, without the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, filled with the clusters from the vine of the earth and then trodden. Blood flows, and. mighty lake is formed as deep as the bridle of the horses, 1600 furlongs across, of the blood of the trodden.

Why these dimensions are chosen. cannot tell. Some have said that 1600 furlongs is the width of Italy, others that it is the length of Palestine.. suppose that, these scenes symbolize. mighty final destruction of the hosts of wickedness. When the final day comes, they shall be trodden in the great wine-press of the wrath of God, and the startling imagery drawn from the blood of the crushed grapes, portrays in vivid colors the extent of their fearful doom.