Revelation 14

All nations had drunk the maddening wine of her (Babylon’s) adulteries; that is, they had all shared in her immorality and idolatry, and had thus brought upon themselves the wrath of God (see Jeremiah 51:7; Revelation 17:1-2).

9-11 The third angel then described the judgment that was about to come upon all those who had the mark of the beast—that is, all those who had not repented and turned to Christ (Revelation 13:16-17).

Those who had the mark of the beast would be made to drink of the wine of God’s fury (Psalm 75:8; Jeremiah 25:1517). The “wine of God’s fury” will be poured full strength into the cup of his wrath; that is, it will not be mixed with water—with mercy. There will be no mercy mixed with God’s final judgment against those who have the mark of the beast. They will be tormented forever with burning sulfur (see Genesis 19:24,28; Mark 9:44; Luke 17:29).

12 Therefore, let those who are Christians remain strong and faithful to the end, lest this judgment fall upon them also.

13 Then, in John’s vision, a voice said from heaven: “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.” In John’s time, many Christians who did not abandon their faith and who did not worship the emperor or other gods were put to death. But they will receive an eternal, an eternal rest (Hebrews 4:1). John writes that their deeds—that is, their deeds of faith and love—will follow them. That means that news of their good works will reach heaven.

14-15 Then John saw one like a son of man (Daniel 7:13-14), in whose hand was a sharp sickle (verse 14). This, of course, is Christ. In the Bible, the sickle is a sign of judgment. The righteous will be gathered into the kingdom of God, and the wicked will be thrown into the fire of hell (Jeremiah 51:33; Matthew 13:30,36-43; Mark 4:26-29).

16 Then Christ, the one “like a son of man,” swung His sickle over the earth. And when He did this, the final judgment sounded by the seventh trumpet began (see Revelation 11:15; 15:1 and comments).

17-18 Then John saw an angel, and this angel was also holding a sharp sickle. And then another angel, who had charge of the fire (Revelation 8:3-5), told the angel with the sickle to gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine. The grapes represent those who have the mark of the beast on them—that is, those who have not repented and turned to God.

19-20 In these verses we see another description of what is going to happen to the wicked. They will not only be cut down and thrown into the fire, but they will also be trampled under God’s feet like grapes³⁶ (Isaiah 63:1-6; Joel 3:12-13; Revelation 19:15). Their blood will flow out and form a lake two meters deep and two hundred miles long!