Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.
Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.” So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse’s bridle, for 1,600 stadia.
Comment: A stadion was about 185 metres, making 1600 stadia nearly 300Km. That is a fair distance! and blood flowing to the height of a horse’s bridle equals a lot of blood! The picture here is of sin being fully ‘ripe’, like corn to be harvested. And the mess of sin is harvested and put into the wine-press (judgement bin) of God and in a mixed metaphor (except that it is really talking about humans being judged) blood flows out as described at the beginning. This surely is a picture to make those of us who are believers in Jesus active in spreading the Good News of the gospel!
Prayer: Please give me wisdom in how to get through to our society, who have, in the main, rejected all what used to be, common points of understanding for discussing You and the Gospel.
As I read it! 