Revelation 14:16

Verse

Berean Standard Bible

So the One seated on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

American Standard Version (1901)

And he that sat on the cloud cast his sickle upon the earth; and the earth was reaped.

Bible in Basic English

And he who was seated on the cloud sent in his blade on the earth; and the grain of the earth was cut.

Douay-Rheims 1899

And he that sat on the cloud thrust his sickle into the earth, and the earth was reaped.

Free Bible Version

The one sitting on the cloud swung his sickle towards the earth, and reaped earth's harvest.

Geneva Bible 1599

And he that sate on the cloude, thrust in his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.

King James (Authorized) Version

And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.

Translation for Translators

The one who was sitting on the cloud forcefully gathered together all the people on earth, as [MET] a farmer reaps grain with his sickle.

Unlocked Literal Bible

Then the one who was sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

Noah Webster Bible

And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.

World English Bible

He who sat on the cloud thrust his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.

Young's Literal Translation

and he who is sitting upon the cloud did put forth his sickle upon the earth, and the earth was reaped.

Context

The Harvest of the Earth

¹⁵Then another angel came out of the temple, crying out in a loud voice to the One seated on the cloud, “Swing Your sickle and reap, because the time has come to harvest; for the crop of the earth is ripe.”¹⁶So the One seated on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

Summary

This verse describes the gathering of the nations for the final battle at Armageddon, symbolizing the ultimate confrontation between good and evil. The image of harvesting the earth represents the separation of the righteous from the wicked, with the grapes of wrath being thrown into the great winepress of God's wrath. The intense imagery underscores the impending judgment and the ultimate victory of God over all evil forces. It serves as a powerful reminder of the consequences of rejecting God and the importance of choosing to align with His righteousness.

Commentary

Adam Clarke
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

The earth was reaped - The judgments were executed. But where, or on whom, who can tell?

John Gill Bible Commentary

And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth,.... He put forth, and made use of that power which he had in his hand, in answer to the entreaty of the angel, the time being fully come which was fixed for this great event: and the earth was reaped; and the harvest of it was got in; reaping and harvest sometimes are used in an ill sense, and design the wrath of God, and his judgments inflicted upon men; see Isa 17:5. Hence some think, that both this and the vintage following intend the judgments of God upon antichrist, and that they are contemporary with the pouring out of the fifth and sixth vials upon the beast and his followers; and the rather, since the destruction of Babylon, literally taken, is expressed in such language, Jer 51:33 though these seem to have respect to times after the fall of the Romish Babylon, before declared in Rev 14:8 and most interpreters refer the harvest to the last judgment at the end of the world; and which sense is greatly countenanced, and to be illustrated by the parable of the tares and wheat, in Mat 13:30 sometimes these phrases are used in a good sense, and intend the gathering in of souls by the preaching of the Gospel; as there are the appointed weeks of the harvest, so there is a time fixed for the calling and conversion of God's elect; and when this time is come, and especially to any number of them in any particular place, it is an harvest, as in Galilee and Samaria in the times of Christ, Mat 9:37 the reapers are the ministers of the Gospel; such were the apostles of Christ, Joh 4:36 and the sickle is the Gospel, by which not only men are cut to the heart, and cut down, and removed from their old bottom, and principles and practices, but are gathered to Christ, and into his churches; and when large numbers are brought in, it is an harvest time, as in the times of Christ and his apostles; see Isa 9:1 hence some interpreters think that the harvest here has respect to the Reformation, which followed upon the preaching of Luther, Calvin, and others, when a large harvest of souls were gathered in, in Germany, France, England, and elsewhere; but rather it may be thought to refer to the conversion of the Jews, and the bringing in the fulness of the Gentiles in the latter day, in the spiritual reign of Christ, to which the preceding visions belong, as we have seen; the earth will be reaped indeed, and a great harvest it will be, when a nation shall be born at once, and the vast multitudes of the Gentiles shall be brought in, as in Isa 66:8 and the rather this may be judged to be the meaning of it, since the passage from whence these phrases are borrowed respects the bringing again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, Joe 3:1 though it seems best to understand it of the Lord's wheat harvest at the end of the world, when the wheat of the earth shall be reaped, and gathered into Christ's barn, or garner, or into his and his Father's kingdom; this reaping of the earth is the removing of the saints out of it, not by death, but by the resurrection of them from the dead; for when Christ shall come in the clouds of heaven, and sit on the white cloud, or throne, the dead in him will rise first, and the living saints will be changed, and both will be caught up together, to meet the Lord in the air; so that the earth will be reaped, and be clear of them, and there will be none left in it but the wicked of the world; and what will become of them is declared in the following verses, under the representation of a vintage.

Revelation 14:16

The Harvest of the Earth

Scripture
Sermons
Commentary

Berean Standard Bible

So the One seated on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

American Standard Version (1901)

And he that sat on the cloud cast his sickle upon the earth; and the earth was reaped.

Bible in Basic English

And he who was seated on the cloud sent in his blade on the earth; and the grain of the earth was cut.

Douay-Rheims 1899

And he that sat on the cloud thrust his sickle into the earth, and the earth was reaped.

Free Bible Version

The one sitting on the cloud swung his sickle towards the earth, and reaped earth's harvest.

Geneva Bible 1599

And he that sate on the cloude, thrust in his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.

King James (Authorized) Version

And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.

Translation for Translators

The one who was sitting on the cloud forcefully gathered together all the people on earth, as [MET] a farmer reaps grain with his sickle.

Unlocked Literal Bible

Then the one who was sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

Noah Webster Bible

And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.

World English Bible

He who sat on the cloud thrust his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.

Young's Literal Translation

and he who is sitting upon the cloud did put forth his sickle upon the earth, and the earth was reaped.

Adam Clarke
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

The earth was reaped - The judgments were executed. But where, or on whom, who can tell?

John Gill Bible Commentary

Revelation 14:16

Verse

Context

The Harvest of the Earth

Summary

Commentary

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary

Revelation 14:16

The Harvest of the Earth

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary