Translation
So the angel thrust his sickle
into the earth and
gathered
the vine of the earth, and
cast it into the
great winepress of the wrath of GOD.
Paraphrase
So the angel dispatched his resources for punishment or reward on all people, putting an end to all activity and beginning the process of revealing the deeds and accomplishments of all mankind and putting them into the pressure cooker of the wrath of THE CREATOR AND OWNER OF ALL THINGS.
Is “Harvesting” the Same as the “Rapture”?
The two acts of harvesting depicted in Revelation 14 do not sound like what is usually described as the rapture. The most natural interpretation of Rev 14:14-20 is that it is the application of consequences for actions (punishments or rewards), not a rapture which takes us to heaven and gets us out of danger.
Another huge difference between the teachings of Jesus and modern teaching on eschatology is exemplified by the words of Rev 1:7, “Every eye will see Him; even those who pierced Him will see Him and when they see Him coming in this way, all the tribes of the earth will wail because of Him.” This agrees with Matthew 24:30 Everyone will see him, they will know what it means, and they will mourn. The modern-day teaching of a secret rapture is anti-biblical.
God does not tell us how or when, only that He will punish and reward according to how each person has lived.
Could it be that one harvest will be for the righteous and one harvest will be for the wicked?
That seems unlikely. Verses 15 and 16, about the harvest performed by Jesus, both state that this harvesting was of “the earth,” without differentiating between the righteous and the wicked. Revelation is always very clear about that distinction; if this were only harvesting of the saints it would have made that clear.
Some people think this refers to the harvest of the saints because it is the harvest of grain, and Jesus’ parable of the wheat and the tares depicts believers as ripened grain. This is not outside of the realm of possibility, but it is based on supposition and has a few problems. The second harvest of Rev 14 (vv 17-20) is a harvest of grapes, which some equate to the punishing of the wicked. One problem with separating the two is that this imagery seems to come from Joel 3:9-16, but there (especially v 13) both the harvest of grain and the harvest of the grapes (and their subsequent trampling) are pictures of God’s vengeance on the nations, i.e. all the wicked of the earth (Joel 3:9,11,12). This passage in Rev 14:14-20 utilizes both the harvest of grain and the harvest of grapes and therefore resembles Joel 3 more than it does the parable of the wheat and the tares.
However, the bigger problem is that Revelation never describes 7 years of unique tribulation. The modern rapture theory is built on the idea of a 7-year unique tribulation, without which the entire system collapses.
If the rapture is so pivotal, why do we not see it in Revelation clearly and repeatedly? If it is not pivotal, why do we argue about it so much?
The harvest of souls is not a major theme of Revelation. This harvesting of souls is described in Revelation in only six verses compared to the entire book of Revelation which is 404 verses. Christ’s return in the clouds is referred to in Revelation 1:7 but not many details are given. In other words, even if this is a reference to the rapture as some claim, it does not seem to be one of the key emphases of the book of Revelation because only 7 out of 404 verses are dedicated to it. Many of our discussions today regarding prophecy revolve around an issue that is basically a non-issue in Revelation, even if we accept the experts’ interpretation of this passage. That alone should show us that such discussions are off-track.
Is a mid-trib rapture the answer?
No. It is impossible to support a mid tribulation rapture if that tribulation does not exist.
Are we at some point going to be caught up with Jesus in the air? Yes, that is made clear by Paul. However, the purpose will not be to get us out of hardship, but to return immediately to earth and be a part of what Jesus will do.
How can I be sure of this?
The symbolism is not used correctly. In those days if a king or important person came to your house you would go out to meet him and then accompany him back into your house (George Eldon Ladd, The Blessed Hope, p. 91.). It was considered rude to wait at your door for him to come to you. That custom is still practiced in many parts of the world today. Every Jew of John’s day would tell you that when the New Testament speaks of us meeting Jesus in the air we are meeting Him as He comes to earth, He is not meeting us as we are going to heaven. The popular notion of Him meeting us in the clouds and then taking us to heaven makes us greater than Jesus, and Jesus lessor than us! (I get shivers and my skin crawls just by typing those words!) It is impossible that the imagery of meeting Jesus in the air means what modern westerners say it means!
Also, the fact that we need to be willing to suffer for Him is made perfectly clear over and over again.
Therefore, the simplest and most natural understanding of Revelation leads us to understand that we should not focus on being “raptured,” but rather on being faithful.