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Sermon preached on Revelation 14:14-15:4 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 04/13/2025 in Petaluma, CA.
Sermon Manuscript
Today we complete the central, seven-scene interlude of Revelation which spanned chapters 12 through 15. We’ve seen in this interlude a dragon with two beasts and their conflict with the Lamb and his church on earth. Scenes 1-3 revealed the dragon as Satan and his beastly false Christ and false prophet trying to conquer the saints. Scene 4 reminded us that the saints are ultimately protected and exalted because Christ the Lamb is with us. Scene 5 warned any who would serve the beast that the final day of judgment is imminent. Today we look at the final two scenes. The sixth scene will show the harvesting of the earth representing that final day of judgment. The seventh scene will show the song of the Lamb as the saints celebrate victory after that final judgment.
Before we consider each scene, notice that our first scene today, scene 6, is connected with the last scene, scene 5. Both scenes have three angels that are each described as “another angel”. The shared language invites a comparison. Last scene warned of the final judgment. Today’s scene announces that judgment as coming. The time for warnings has past by the time you get to this sixth scene. Right now we are in the time of scene 5, warning the world. There is yet time for someone to come to Jesus. Soon it will be too late.
Let us then dig into scene 6 today and consider this final harvest in verses 14-20. This describes the end of this age when Christ returns and there is a gathering up of peoples for judgment. The wicked will be gathered unto the judgment of eternal damnation to receive God’s wrath for their sin. The saints will be gathered up and ushered into their eternal reward. This scenes pictures both through the harvest imagery.
There are actually two harvests here. Verses 14-18 describe reaping a grain harvest. Verses 17-20 describe a grape harvest. Some suggest this is simple recapitulation, emphatically twice describing the gathering up of the wicked for judgment. Others suggest more elaborate recapitulation, that the first harvest describes a general reaping that includes both the saints and the wicked, while the second focuses on gathering the wicked for damnation. A third option, which is what I prefer, is that the first harvest pictures of God’s gathering up on the saints at the return of Christ and the second harvest speaks of God’s gathering up of the wicked for damnation. This fits both with the details here and other Bible passages that foretell a final division at the end between the saved and the damned (e.g. the parables of the sheep and the goats and of the wheat and the tares). This two-part scene with two contrasting harvests vividly pictures this.
When studying a two-part scene like this, where the details are so similar, the differences are important. What stands out in the first part, the first harvest, is the description of the one doing the harvest. Both harvests involve another angel that announces the time for the harvest. But while the second harvest has another angel also doing the reaping, in the first harvest it is surely Christ doing the reaping.
Just look at verse 14 of the description of the one doing the reaping of the first harvest. He is coming in a cloud and is described as one like a son of man and he is wearing a golden crown. This clearly distinguishes the person from the six angels that are in this chapter. This one is not another angel. He is one like a son of man, referencing Daniel’s language for the Messiah. This interlude is filled with references to Daniel. Jesus also quoted Daniel when he promised he would return, coming on the clouds, gathering his elect from the four corners of the earth, Matthew 24:30-31. Or as taught in Thessalonians 4, Jesus will return descending from heaven, “and the dead in Christ will rise first, then we [Christians] who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” This picture also fits Jesus’ description in Luke 9:26 of how at the end he will return in glory and with his holy angels. So then, this first harvest shows the glorious return of Christ to gather up his redeemed people. Jesus harvests his elect saints, the firstfruits as described in back in verse 4 of chapter 14.
We then have this second harvest, that of the wicked. What stands out in this second part is the harvested grapes are thrown into a winepress described as the wrath of God. There is no question this describes a harvest of the wicked and their punishment. One difference from the first harvest is in verse 18 the angel who announces this grape harvest is described as having authority over the fire. Fire in Revelation is used repeatedly as a metaphor for God’s punishment of the wicked. Fire and the winepress here become mixed metaphors here to symbolize divine wrath.
The winepress imagery is vividly extended in verse 20 by describing blood coming out of the winepress, instead of grape juice. A winepress is used for stomping down grapes to release their juice, which is then captured and fermented into wine. But John sees blood, not juice, coming out of the winepress. This winepress is symbolic of God’s slaying of the wicked. Isaiah 63 used similar imagery when it foretold how God would stomp the wicked in a winepress and make their lifeblood pour out.
Let us appreciate how much blood comes from this winepress. Again, remember this is an apocalyptic vision not a camcorder recording. The amount of blood is as high as a horse’s bridle, so roughly five feet. The length of this river of blood is 1,600 stadia, roughly 180 miles. This surely is symbolically of how great of a judgment will come upon the wicked. So very many people will be the subject of God’s wrath at the end. Elsewhere we learn that on the final day it is not just Christians who will raise from the dead but also the wicked will be raised from the dead, so that they can face this judgment and wrath. So, that accounts for how much blood is symbolically represented here. Every single human being who has ever lived that has not found salvation in the one true God will be gathered up at the end of this age and God’s wrath will be poured out upon them.
Besides the symbolism of how extensive this wrath will be, we can ask why the number 1,600? The most convincing proposal I’ve heard is that 1,600 is the number 40 squared. 40 x 40 equals 1600. In the Bible, the number 40 has a precedence with being connected with judgment. The flood waters of Noah’s day fell for 40 days and nights. Israel had to wander for 40 years in the wilderness as punishment for their unbelief. Deuteronomy 25 legislated that the guilty can receive at most 40 lashes at a time. The symbolism of the square of 40 suggests every wicked person gets the full punishment was coming to them.
Let’s turn now to the last scene, scene 7, in 15:1-4. In the aftermath of God’s judgment, there’s a victory song named the Song of the Lamb. Verse 1 mentions another great sign in heaven, which is how this interlude started out in 12:1. That brackets the entire seven-scene interlude, showing its unity. At the same time, it introduces something completely new, seven angels with seven plagues. This refers to the seven bowls that we’ll dig into further next week starting in verse 5. We saw this before in the transition between the seven seals and the seven trumpets, that the seven trumpets were introduced and woven into the seventh seal. Likewise, here the final scene of this seven-scene interlude effectively is interrupted to tell us about these coming seven bowls of wrath. Revelation continues to develop an overarching story while simultaneously weaving together one vision cycle after another that each give us different vantage points of our history up to Christ returns.
The victory celebration really gets started in verse 2. There, John sees a sea of glass. Back in chapter 4 we already saw a sea of glass, like crystal, before God’s throne in heaven. Ancient people often considered the sea as a place of chaos and evil, with all its raging and roaring that it does. In contrast, God in heaven has a perfectly calm and still sea before him. This vision sees another calm sea, a sea of glass, but now it is also mingled with fire. Remember the previous scene with the angel with authority over the fire. The wrath of God poured out on all evil at the last day is likened to fire. Here, this sea is calm and clear, but only because of God’s judgment and wrath on the wicked.
Two details in this passage deepen the meaning. First, it tells us that the beast was conquered, this beast that came from the sea. When we see a sea of glass mingled with fire, we think of that sea as subdued and judged. Second, the passage refers to the Song of Moses, the song Israel sang after Pharaoh and his army, another beast-like figure, were swallowed up in the Red Sea. In fact, some ancient Jewish interpreters even described the parted sea as appearing clear and crystal-like. Taken together, this imagery celebrates God’s final victory. The forces of evil have been conquered, and God is bringing His peace to a world once ruled by chaos and the evil one.
I appreciate how the conquering of the beast is spelled out in verse 2. Not just is the beast conquered, but its image, the one that the second beast had setup, is also conquered. This means all fraudulent Christs and all fake religion will be defeated. Also, the number of its name is conquered, referencing the mark of the beast. So then, all fooled worshippers of this false Christ and fake religion will also be defeated.
That is reason to celebrate. We then see the harps and hear the song. Last chapter, 14:2-3, John saw the Lamb with the 144,000 on Zion and heard a voice from heaven that sounded like many harps with a new song being sung. That was a glimpse ahead of the victory realized here in this vision of the sea of glass as this interlude comes to an end.
I’ve described this as a victory song. One reason is because of who is singing it according to verse 2. It’s the people who conquered the beast, its image, and its mark. So, it’s a song from the victors, and so it’s obviously a victory song. But this is further confirmed when it calls it the Song of Moses. That is not meant literally, as in verbatim, because the words of this new song here aren’t the exact lyrics of the Song of Moses. Rather, there is something conceptually similar about the Song of Moses.
So, what is the Song of Moses and where can you find it in the Bible? There are actually two songs of Moses in the Bible, and we refer to both as the Song of Moses. The first one is in Exodus 15 and the second is in Deuteronomy 32. That first one celebrates God delivering Israel from Pharoah at the Red Sea and also looks ahead to how God would give them victory over other enemies in the future. That Song of Moses was right after the Exodus as they headed out toward a promising future in the Promised Land as God’s people. In contrast, the Song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32 comes after Israel’s 40 years of wilderness wandering, just before they are finally about to conquer and possess the Promised Land. That Song of Moses in Deuteronomy is more of a prophecy about how even though God had done so much for them, the people were going to fall away and face God’s judgment. Yet, a remnant would ultimately be restored and saved by God.
Which Song of Moses is referenced here? I would say both. Clearly the theme of the beast of the sea being conquered and then singing a victory song brings to mind Exodus 15’s Song. But then we also remember that the interlude painted this time period of the dragon warring on the saints as a period where the church is in the wilderness before it finally arrives in the ultimate Promised Land. That brings to mind Deuteronomy 32’s Song. In fact, this song as recorded in verses 4-5 even has ways that it subtly echoes parts of both songs.
So while this new song is identified as the Song of Moses in a thematic sense, it is then identified as the Song of the Lamb. This ties everything together. This new song as given in verses 4-5 does not verbatim quote either of the two Old Testament Songs of Moses because that is missing the point. Those two songs represent typologically what the Lamb does in the ultimate redemption of God’s people. To sing the songs of Moses is to sing
about the ultimate salvation of the Lamb. The first Song of Moses speaks of redemption from Egyptian slavery and a might triumph over Israel’s enemies. Jesus, the Lamb of God redeems us from the bondage of sin and death and triumphs over our enemies, including Satan and his agents. The second Song of Moses warns those among God’s people who would become apostates and turn after other false gods lest they know the judgment of God. Revelation says that is what would yet happen today if any who claims to profess Christ receives the mark of the beast. If apostatize by embracing false religion over the truth that is in Jesus, they will know God’s wrath. Yet, like how God had a remnant back then, so now today, God keeps a remnant faithful to Jesus unto the day of his return. So, the two Songs of Moses paints a large picture of their redemptive history as it relates to the Exodus, the Conquest, and the Exile. Scripture helps us to see how all of that history becomes a type and picture of an ultimate story of salvation in Jesus Christ. So then, in this sense, the Song of Moses is the Song of the Lamb, typologically speaking, and here it is sung again at this victory party, praise be to God!
So then, the content of this song is relatively focused on praise, using rather grand words. God is praised for his great and amazing deeds. They are great as in they are mighty and of grand importance. They are amazing in the wondrous and supernatural sense. God is praised for how just and true his works are. They are just in the sense that they are righteous in keeping with God’s perfect and good law. They are true in that they not Satan’s deceptions, but genuine and authentic, and what he says he does in integrity and faithfulness. The song goes on to praise God for his holiness, for there is none like him, nor is there any who could have ordained such a history and plan of redemption. The song ends praising that God’s righteous acts have been revealed and this reminds us why this praise song is being sung. It has in mind all the acts God has done throughout history in both judgment and redemption, in both electing some unto salvation and leaving others in their sin to taste damnation. His righteousness and mercy have been revealed and the world is without excuse and the saints are thankful and joyful beyond any words. Yet, it is right to do our best to express in words this sort of praise to God. So, this song not only praises God, but it also calls for all to worship God. That is the answer to the false religion of the beast and its image. We worship the one true God in spirit and in truth. This new song then not only celebrates the victory, but arrives at the ultimate goal of the victory, that we would glorify and enjoy God, forever.
Trinity Presbyterian Church, do you see now why it is so important to have endurance, faith, and wisdom? That’s what this interlude called for back in chapter 13. We need endurance, faith, and wisdom, because this is how things are going to end up in the end. Right now the beast is warring against us Christians. But we need to endure in faith and not give up because this beast is going to lose the battle. How is the culture today trying to destroy your faith? Let us endure so we can be standing with Christ over the beast and his followers and not the other way around. Likewise, let us have the wisdom to not be fooled by the Satan’s lies. The beast and the false prophet will package up false religion so it looks so enticing. How does the culture today try to turn you to some other religion, even if they don’t call it a religion? But let us have wisdom and understanding to discern the just and true ways of God over the evil and false ways of Satan. So that we will sing the new song at the end that only God’s people will be able to learn.
If you are here today, and have not yet turned to Jesus in faith, then I urge you to not wait any longer. The harvest is soon at hand, and at that point it will be too late. Receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior and know that when soon returns he will gather you unto himself to usher you into an eternal and blessed glory. Then you too can sing the victory song at the end, as we join Christ’s triumphal entry into the New Jerusalem.
Amen.
Copyright © 2025 Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
All Rights Reserved.
