◄ Revelation 14:17 ►
Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle.
Study Bible
Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven,

Another angel proceeds from God’s heavenly sanctuary, the place of His holiness, authority, and sovereign rule. The angel’s emergence from the temple shows that the coming judgment is directed by God Himself. The heavenly temple, also seen in Revelation 11:19 and 15:5–8, stands as the true dwelling place of God, of which Israel’s temple was an earthly pattern.

Rev 11:19 Then the temple of God in heaven was opened,…
Rev 15:5-6 After this I looked, and the temple—the tabernacle…
Heb 9:11-12 But when Christ came as high priest of the good things…

and he too had a sharp sickle.

The sickle prepares for the harvest of the earth described in Revelation 14:18–20, where the grapes of wickedness are gathered for the winepress of God’s wrath. Unlike the preceding harvest, this scene leads directly to judgment upon those who have persisted in rebellion against God. The sharpness of the sickle emphasizes the certainty, completeness, and righteousness of the judgment soon to be carried out.

Jol 3:13 Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe.…
Mrk 4:29 And as soon as the grain is ripe, he swings…
Jer 50:16 Cut off the sower from Babylon, and the one who wields…

Persons / Places / Events
1. Another Angel
This angel is distinct from the previous one mentioned in Revelation 14:15. Angels in Revelation often serve as messengers or agents of God's judgment and mercy.

2. Temple in Heaven
The heavenly temple is a place of divine presence and authority. It signifies the origin of the angel's mission, emphasizing that the actions to follow are sanctioned by God.

3. Sharp Sickle
The sickle is a tool for harvesting, symbolizing judgment and the gathering of people for either salvation or wrath. The sharpness indicates readiness and precision in executing God's will.
Teaching Points
Divine Authority and Judgment
The angel's emergence from the heavenly temple underscores that divine judgment is not arbitrary but is decreed by God Himself. Believers should trust in God's righteous judgment and His ultimate authority over all creation.

Role of Angels
Angels are depicted as active participants in God's plan, serving as His messengers and agents. This reminds us of the unseen spiritual realm and the importance of acknowledging God's sovereignty in both the seen and unseen worlds.

Readiness for the Harvest
The sharp sickle symbolizes the readiness and precision of God's judgment. Believers are called to live in a state of spiritual readiness, understanding that God's timing is perfect and His judgment is just.

Symbolism of the Harvest
The harvest imagery serves as a reminder of the separation between the righteous and the wicked. It encourages believers to examine their lives and ensure they are living in accordance with God's will.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the imagery of the angel with a sharp sickle in Revelation 14:17 enhance our understanding of God's judgment?

2. In what ways does the concept of the heavenly temple influence our perception of divine authority and holiness?

3. How can the role of angels in Revelation 14:17 inspire us to consider the spiritual realities that exist beyond our physical world?

4. What practical steps can we take to ensure we are spiritually ready for the "harvest" as described in Revelation?

5. How do the themes of judgment and harvest in Revelation 14:17 connect with Jesus' teachings in the Gospels, and how can these connections guide our daily walk with Christ?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Matthew 13:39
This verse speaks of the harvest at the end of the age, where angels are the reapers. It connects to the imagery of the sickle and the role of angels in executing divine judgment.

Joel 3:13
This Old Testament prophecy uses similar harvest imagery to describe the judgment of nations, reinforcing the theme of divine retribution.

Revelation 14:15
The earlier verse in the same chapter also mentions an angel with a sickle, highlighting the coordinated effort in the heavenly realm to bring about God's judgment.
Sermons
A Coronation SermonG. Clayton.Revelation 14:14-20
Judgment Again RepresentedR. Green Revelation 14:14-20
The Harvest and the VintageS. Conway, B. A.Revelation 14:14-20
The Harvest and the VintageS. Conway Revelation 14:14-20
The Harvest of the EarthR. Tuck, B. A.Revelation 14:14-20
The Moral Seasons of HumanityD. Thomas Revelation 14:14-20
The Twin Mysteries: Life and DeathJ. Stoughton.Revelation 14:14-20
People
John
Places
Babylon, Mount Zion, Patmos
Topics
Angel, Blade, Carried, Curved, Forth, Heaven, Messenger, Sanctuary, Sharp, Sickle, Temple
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Revelation 14:14-19

     4508   sickle

Revelation 14:15-17

     7470   temple, significance

Revelation 14:15-19

     4113   angels, agents of judgment
     4510   sowing and reaping

Revelation 14:17-20

     4458   grape
     4546   winepress

Library
The Approval of the Spirit
TEXT: "Yea, saith the Spirit."--Rev. 14:31. The world has had many notable galleries of art in which we have been enabled to study the beautiful landscape, to consider deeds of heroism which have made the past illustrious, in which we have also read the stories of saintly lives; but surpassing all these is the gallery of art in which we find the text. Humanly speaking John is the artist while he is an exile on the Island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea. The words he uses and the figures he presents …
J. Wilbur Chapman—And Judas Iscariot

The Declensions of Christianity, an Argument of Its Truth.
"When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" That the coming of the Son of man, is here intended of Christ's coming at the commencement of the latter day glory, hath been alleged in the preceding discourse, and several considerations adduced in proof. Additional evidence will arise from a view of the prophecies relative to the great declensions which were to take place in the church, during the gospel day. These, we observed, are of two kinds, one, a corruption of religion, …
Andrew Lee et al—Sermons on Various Important Subjects

Heavenly Worship
"Up to her courts, with joys unknown, The sacred tribes repaired." Between the wings of the cherubim Jehovah dwelt; on the one altar there all the sacrifices were offered to high heaven. They loved Mount Sion, and often did they sing, when they drew nigh to her, in their annual pilgrimages, "How amiable are thy tabernacles O Lord God of hosts, my King and my God!" Sion is now desolate; she hath been ravished by the enemy; she hath been utterly destroyed; her vail hath been rent asunder, and the virgin …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 3: 1857

20TH DAY. Bliss in Dying.
"He is Faithful that Promised." "Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord."--REV. xiv. 13. Bliss in Dying. My Soul! is this blessedness thine in prospect? Art thou ready, if called this night to lie down on thy death-pillow, sweetly to fall asleep in Jesus? What is the sting of death? It is sin. Is death, then, to thee, robbed of its sting, by having listened to the gracious accents of pardoning love, "Be of good cheer, thy sins, which are many, are all forgiven thee?" If thou hast made up thy …
John Ross Macduff—The Faithful Promiser

Wherefore Also the virgins of God Without Blame Indeed...
49. Wherefore also the virgins of God without blame indeed, "follow the Lamb whithersoever He shall have gone," both the cleansing of sins being perfected, and virginity being kept, which, were it lost, could not return: but, because that same Apocalypse itself, wherein such unto one such were revealed, in this also praises them, that "in their mouth there was not found a lie:" [2205] let them remember in this also to be true, that they dare not say that they have not sin. Forsooth the same John, …
St. Augustine—Of Holy Virginity.

Let the Inner Ear of the virgin Also...
24. Let the inner ear of the virgin also, thy holy child, hear these things. I shall see [2284] how far she goes before you in the Kingdom of That King: it is another question. Yet ye have found, mother and daughter, Him, Whom by beauty of chastity ye ought to please together, having despised, she all, you second, marriage. Certainly if there were husbands whom ye had to please, by this time, perhaps, you would feel ashamed to adorn yourself together with your daughter; now let it not shame you, …
St. Augustine—On the Good of Widowhood.

Letter Xlix to Romanus, Sub-Deacon of the Roman Curia.
To Romanus, Sub-Deacon of the Roman Curia. He urges upon him the proposal of the religious life, recalling the thought of death. Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux, to his dear Romanus, as to his friend. MY DEAREST FRIEND, How good you are to me in renewing by a letter the sweet recollection of yourself and in excusing my tiresome delay. It is not possible that any forgetfulness of your affection could ever invade the hearts of those who love you; but, I confess, I thought you had almost forgotten yourself …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

Whether virginity is the Greatest of virtues?
Objection 1: It would seem that virginity is the greatest of virtues. For Cyprian says (De Virgin. [*De Habitu Virg.]): "We address ourselves now to the virgins. Sublime is their glory, but no less exalted is their vocation. They are a flower of the Church's sowing, the pride and ornament of spiritual grace, the most honored portion of Christ's flock." Objection 2: Further, a greater reward is due to the greater virtue. Now the greatest reward is due to virginity, namely the hundredfold fruit, according …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

The Glory of the virgins and Religious.
Here are two other bright throngs that present themselves. They are the holy Virgins and the Religious. Let us first contemplate the bright glory of the virgins. I quote again from the Apocalypse: "And I heard a great voice from heaven. . . . And the voice which I heard was as the voice of harpers, harping upon their harps. And they sang as it were a new canticle before the throne. . . . And no man could say that canticle but those hundred and forty-four thousand. These are they who were not defiled …
F. J. Boudreaux—The Happiness of Heaven

Naked or Clothed?
'As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.'--ECCLES. v. 15. '... Their works do follow them.'--REV. xiv. 13. It is to be observed that these two sharply contrasted texts do not refer to the same persons. The former is spoken of a rich worldling, the latter of 'the dead who die in the Lord.' The unrelieved gloom of the one is as a dark background against which the triumphant assurance of …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Ripe for Gathering
'Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit. 2. And He said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the Lord unto me, The end is come upon My people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more. 3. And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord God: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence. 4. Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Which Sentence Dishonoreth the Holy Martyrs, Nay Rather Taketh Away Holy Martyrdoms Altogether. ...
3. Which sentence dishonoreth the holy Martyrs, nay rather taketh away holy martyrdoms altogether. For they would do more justly and wisely, according to these men, not to confess to their persecutors that they were Christians, and by confessing make them murderers: but rather by telling a lie, and denying what they were, should both themselves keep safe the convenience of the flesh and purpose of the heart, and not allow those to accomplish the wickedness which they had conceived in their mind. …
St. Augustine—Against Lying

Therefore, if we Compare the Things Themselves, we May no Way Doubt that The...
28. Therefore, if we compare the things themselves, we may no way doubt that the chastity of continence is better than marriage chastity, whilst yet both are good: but when we compare the persons, he is better, who hath a greater good than another. Further, he who hath a greater of the same kind, hath also that which is less; but he, who only hath what is less, assuredly hath not that which is greater. For in sixty, thirty also are contained, not sixty also in thirty. But not to work from out that …
St. Augustine—On the Good of Marriage

Letter Lii to Another Holy virgin.
To Another Holy Virgin. Under a religious habit she had continued to have a spirit given up to the world, and Bernard praises her for coming to a sense of her duty; he exhorts her not to neglect the grace given to her. 1. It is the source of great joy to me to hear that you are willing to strive after that true and perfect joy, which belongs not to earth but to heaven; that is, not to this, vale of tears, but to that city of God which the rivers of the flood thereof make glad (Ps. xlvi. 4). And in …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

A Treatise of the Fear of God;
SHOWING WHAT IT IS, AND HOW DISTINGUISHED FROM THAT WHICH IS NOT SO. ALSO, WHENCE IT COMES; WHO HAS IT; WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS; AND WHAT THE PRIVILEGES OF THOSE THAT HAVE IT IN THEIR HEARTS. London: Printed for N. Ponder, at the Peacock in the Poultry, over against the Stocks market: 1679. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," and "a fountain of life"--the foundation on which all wisdom rests, as well as the source from whence it emanates. Upon a principle …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Appendix the Daughters of Jerusalem
The question is frequently asked, Who are represented by the daughters of Jerusalem? They are clearly not the bride, yet they are not far removed from her. They know where the Bridegroom makes His flock to rest at noon; they are charged by the Bridegroom not to stir up nor awaken His love when she rests, abiding in Him; they draw attention to the Bridegroom as with dignity and pomp He comes up from the wilderness; their love-gifts adorn His chariot of state; they are appealed to by the bride for …
J. Hudson Taylor—Union and Communion

Vanity of Human Glory.
"The world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not."--1 John iii. 1 Of St. Simon and St. Jude, the Saints whom we this day commemorate, little is known[1]. St. Jude, indeed, still lives in the Church in his Catholic epistle; but of his history we only know that he was brother to St. James the Less, and nearly related to our Lord and that, like St. Peter, he had been a married man. Besides his name of Jude or Judas, he is also called Thaddaeus and Lebbaeus in the Gospels. Of St. Simon we only …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII

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