I said at the beginning of this that it is a revelation of Jesus Christ. This passage is also a revelation of a side of Jesus that many reject. They are excited about a Messiah who comes to die for the sins of the world and to show mercy to all. This passage introduces him as the judge of the earth, and the executor of punishment for those who align themselves with Satan and the Beast.
There are two variations of this depicted in this passage. The first is fairly straight forward. It unmistakably identifies Jesus, the Son of Man, as the one reaping the harvest. The sense of the reaping indicates judgment.
The second variation is much more graphic. Grapes are harvested from the vine of the earth and thrown into a winepress that represents the wrath and indignation of God. Out of the winepress flows a tsunami of blood that is as high as the bridles on horses and flows out 1600 stadia. There have been many attempts to figure out a literal fulfillment of this. That misses the point of the vision. This deluge of blood indicates the finality of God’s judgment and how drastic it is.
John’s readers knew of a recent event that probably came to mind when they read it, specifically the wars, revolts, and conquest of Israel by Vespasian and his son Titus. This conquest was prophesied by Jesus to his disciples. Tired of Roman occupation and crushing taxation, more than one faction of Jews rose up in rebellion and routed some of the Roman military. Nero tasked Vespasian with crushing this rebellion. He began in the northern areas of Israel and the rebels eventually ended up in Jerusalem. By that time, Nero was dead, and Vespasian established himself as the new emperor and left the conquest of Israel to his son Titus. Conquering as he went, Titus was left to take the last rebel stronghold, Jerusalem. Some estimate the Roman trek in this bloody conquest stretched for about 1600 stadia. The attack on Jerusalem was initially repelled and the Romans dug a trench around the city and besieged it, crucifying any who attempted to leave on the ramparts in full view of those in Jerusalem. Prior to the siege, rebel factions in the city fought each other in a nasty civil war. At some point the more zealous faction burned most of the food supply so there would be no option except to fight the Romans.
When the romans finally breached the walls, the blood bath that followed was epic. Josephus reported one million were besieged in the city while other historians put the number at 600,000. Civil war, starvation, battling the Romans and pestilence took a terrible toll. The Romans captured and enslaved around 97,000, using many of the stronger ones in gladiatorial games. The conquest ended when the Romans attacked Masada where any rebels who had escaped were holed up. When they took Masada, they found all but a handful had committed suicide rather than suffer defeat by the Romans. This fresh in their minds, his readers could easily identify with John’s description of the winepress of God’s wrath.
For them it gave assurance that the Son of Man, Jesus the Christ, would set things straight and with absolute finality. Rome would be dealt with.
For us, it assures us that, no matter how hopeless things look, Jesus, the judge of the earth will set things straight at the end of it all. That’s what judgement is all about – setting things straight, returning the creation to what it was at the beginning. And that involves purging the creation of that great dragon, Satan, and the Beasts who represent him, and all those who align themselves with him.
There are two variations of this depicted in this passage. The first is fairly straight forward. It unmistakably identifies Jesus, the Son of Man, as the one reaping the harvest. The sense of the reaping indicates judgment.
The second variation is much more graphic. Grapes are harvested from the vine of the earth and thrown into a winepress that represents the wrath and indignation of God. Out of the winepress flows a tsunami of blood that is as high as the bridles on horses and flows out 1600 stadia. There have been many attempts to figure out a literal fulfillment of this. That misses the point of the vision. This deluge of blood indicates the finality of God’s judgment and how drastic it is.
John’s readers knew of a recent event that probably came to mind when they read it, specifically the wars, revolts, and conquest of Israel by Vespasian and his son Titus. This conquest was prophesied by Jesus to his disciples. Tired of Roman occupation and crushing taxation, more than one faction of Jews rose up in rebellion and routed some of the Roman military. Nero tasked Vespasian with crushing this rebellion. He began in the northern areas of Israel and the rebels eventually ended up in Jerusalem. By that time, Nero was dead, and Vespasian established himself as the new emperor and left the conquest of Israel to his son Titus. Conquering as he went, Titus was left to take the last rebel stronghold, Jerusalem. Some estimate the Roman trek in this bloody conquest stretched for about 1600 stadia. The attack on Jerusalem was initially repelled and the Romans dug a trench around the city and besieged it, crucifying any who attempted to leave on the ramparts in full view of those in Jerusalem. Prior to the siege, rebel factions in the city fought each other in a nasty civil war. At some point the more zealous faction burned most of the food supply so there would be no option except to fight the Romans.
When the romans finally breached the walls, the blood bath that followed was epic. Josephus reported one million were besieged in the city while other historians put the number at 600,000. Civil war, starvation, battling the Romans and pestilence took a terrible toll. The Romans captured and enslaved around 97,000, using many of the stronger ones in gladiatorial games. The conquest ended when the Romans attacked Masada where any rebels who had escaped were holed up. When they took Masada, they found all but a handful had committed suicide rather than suffer defeat by the Romans. This fresh in their minds, his readers could easily identify with John’s description of the winepress of God’s wrath.
For them it gave assurance that the Son of Man, Jesus the Christ, would set things straight and with absolute finality. Rome would be dealt with.
For us, it assures us that, no matter how hopeless things look, Jesus, the judge of the earth will set things straight at the end of it all. That’s what judgement is all about – setting things straight, returning the creation to what it was at the beginning. And that involves purging the creation of that great dragon, Satan, and the Beasts who represent him, and all those who align themselves with him.
RSS Feed
