Revelation 14:17-20 (NKJV) Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
18 And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.” 19 So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.
V17 “Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.” God has delegated this angel for this specific task. Clearly, these angels are holy angels serving the one and only God. This temple is specifically in heaven, not an earthly temple. The sickle is for one purpose—to harvest.
V18 “And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.” This angel has authority over the fire of the Temple’s altar. This angel shouted out to the angel in verse 17 to thrust and gather the fully ripe grapes. From the context, we know this represents God’s wrath. Compare Luke 6:44. Constable suggests: “The vine may represent Israel and the wheat Gentiles.”
V19 “So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.” This is so fearful; why would anyone refuse to believe? The reasons are pride (“I’m a good person”), enjoying the pleasures of sin more than eternal life, and believing lies (“the antiChrist will deliver us”).
V20 “And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.” This is a lot of deaths. God is just. He has warned everyone that they will die if they continue in their sins. See Genesis 2:16-17, Romans 6:23, James 1:15, James 2:10, Revelation 20:11-15, and Revelation 21:8.
From Precept Austin (the sources of the quotes can be found here, scroll to bottom: https://www.preceptaustin.org/revelation-14-commentary#14:20:
“Furlong is σταδίων [stadiōn], a distance of one-eighth of a mile (185 meters).67 The total distance is approximately 200 miles.[68]
“The blood stretches for 1,600 furlongs, which is approximately two hundred miles. The two hundred miles may refer to the entire area from the Valley of Armageddon to Bozrah, which is about two hundred miles. Another possible explanation is that it refers to the round trip distance between Jerusalem and Bozrah. The fighting will begin in Jerusalem and move to Bozrah (100 miles), and with the Second Coming, will return back from Bozrah to the Valley of Jehoshaphat (another 100 miles). But the best explanation is based on Jeremiah 49:20-22 . . . In the context (see Jer. 49:13-14), this passage is dealing with the Campaign of Armageddon. The massive blood-letting that begins at Bozrah begins moving south down the Arabah until it empties in the Red Sea at the present-day cities of Eilat and Akaba. The distance from there to Jerusalem is about two hundred miles.[69]
“Armageddon is in the north of Palestine [Rev. 16:14-16+], the valley of Jehoshaphat is in the south. Bozrah is named by Isaiah as the place where the Lord treads the winepress [Isa. 63:1-6]. And the distance between the farthest points of this “front” is 1600 furlongs.”[[70]
“What is signified is a vast destruction of human life over a circumscribed area. Certainly what is stated of the vast slaughter is beyond anything ever known.”[71]
We learn:
- Sin has consequences.
- God punishes sin just as He said.
- God is justified to punish (He is the King who has laws and punishments for lawbreaking).