Verses 18 and 19 say, “And another angel came out of the altar, having authority over the fire, and he cried with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, Send forth your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripened. And the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth and cast it into the great winepress of the fury of God.” In the Bible the Jews are likened to the fig tree (Matt. 24:32), the believers to wheat (Matt. 13:25, 30), and the wicked Gentiles to the grapevine (Rev. 14:19), which is a false vine, the counterfeit of the true vine made up of Christ and His members (John 15:1-6). The Lord Jesus said, “I am the true vine,” because the unbelievers are the imitation vine made by Satan.
We have seen that God uses the fig tree to symbolize the nation of Israel. Although the fig tree has no outward blossom, flower, or glory, it is full of nourishing fruit. This is what Israel should be in God’s economy. However, today Israel does not have any fruit. When the Lord Jesus went to Jerusalem the last time, He came to a fig tree. He was hungry and desired nourishment. Because He could receive no nourishment from the fig tree, He cursed it (Mark 11:12-14). That was a shadow of the Lord’s cursing the unfruitful Jewish nation.
In God’s wisdom wheat symbolizes the Christians, the church. Wheat seeds were sown into the earth directly by the Lord Jesus as the Son of Man. Wheat has a very small blossom, but when it is ripe, it is full of grain to produce fine flour for God’s meal offering to satisfy both God and man. Praise the Lord that we Christians are the wheat growing in the field!
After the wheat has been harvested, the unbelievers, likened in the eyes of God to grapes, will be reaped. This will take place at the end of the great tribulation.
The great winepress will be the judgment at the valley of Jehoshaphat (Joel 3:9-16). The third chapter of Joel tells us clearly that the Lord will gather all the armies of the nations to the valley of Jehoshaphat (also called Kidron), which is joined by the valley of Hinnom and which is between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives. In ancient times people buried unclean things there. King Asa of Judah burned his mother’s idol in that place (1 Kings 15:13). Hence, unclean and idolatrous things were buried in this valley.
The great winepress of the fury of God (v. 19) will be the war at Armageddon (16:12-16), where all the worldly forces will be gathered and where the Lord with His army of overcoming saints will fight against them and destroy them (19:11-21; Joel 3:9-13; Isa. 63:1-6). The title Armageddon is composed of two words. The first, ar, means “mount” and the second, Mageddon, is the name of Megiddo, meaning “slaughter.”
We have pointed out that, according to the Bible and according to today’s world situation, armies from three sources will converge at the war of Armageddon. These sources are Europe, Russia, and the East. The sources of Russia and the East can already be identified, but the source from Europe and Asia Minor is not yet settled. The countries in this region are waiting for a strong leader, who may become Antichrist, to appear. I am assured by the study of prophecy that Antichrist will either come from the land of Greece and Macedonia or be of Greek descent. This powerful leader will move in the direction of Egypt, Syria, and Israel, the beautiful land. Due to the vast oil wealth in the Middle East, this area has already become the crucial focus of international relations. Under the Lord’s sovereign arrangement, this may be one of the causes of the war at Armageddon.
Zechariah 14 indicates that when the Lord Jesus comes back, He will set His feet upon the Mount of Olives, causing this mountain to split in half and providing a way for the besieged Jews to escape (Zech. 14:4-5). In Acts 1 we are told that the Lord Jesus, who ascended from the Mount of Olives, will return in the same way that He ascended. This means that He will come back to the Mount of Olives near the valley of Jehoshaphat. The gathering of the worldly forces is likened to the gathering of ripened grapes into the great winepress. When the Lord sees all the worldly armies gathered together at the war of Armageddon, that will be the time for Him to tread the winepress.
Before the grapes are gathered into the great winepress, they will be fully ripened (v. 18). In order for wheat to ripen, its water content must be dried up. But the ripening of grapes is just the opposite: the grapes must be filled with water. Whether you are wheat or a grape depends upon whether you are dried up or filled with the earthly water. If your ambition is to gain more earthly water, then you are living like the grapes, not like the wheat.
The grapes will be gathered and cast into the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God (v. 19; 16:12-16). The Lord will gather the evil worldly forces into one place for Him to tread this great winepress. By treading this great winepress, the Lord will destroy the evil worldly forces.
The great winepress will be trodden by Christ (Isa. 63:1-6). Verse 20 says, “And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress up to the bridles of the horses for a thousand six hundred stadia.” The city here is the city of Jerusalem, and the horses correspond to those in 19:18. The blood that comes out of the winepress will form a river one thousand six hundred stadia long (about one hundred eighty-two miles). This is the distance from Bozrah (Isa. 63:1) to Megiddo (Rev. 16:16). This river of blood will be so high that it will reach the bridles of the horses. The Hebrew word rendered blood in Isaiah 63:3 means juice. Even the garments of Christ will be stained with this blood. From Bozrah to Megiddo will be a long, bloody river. This treading of the winepress will be the judgment of the Lord Jesus exercised upon Antichrist and all his forces. Armies from the north, the west, and the east will be gathered like ripened grapes into the winepress. This is the clear word of prophecy.
This treading of the great winepress will close the great tribulation and also complete this age. This is a great matter.