And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and the blood that flowed from it rose as high as the bridles of the horses for a distance of 1,600 stadia. And the winepress was troddenThe imagery of a winepress is deeply rooted in biblical symbolism, often representing God's judgment. The Greek word for "winepress" is "lēnos," which evokes the process of crushing grapes to extract juice, symbolizing the outpouring of divine wrath. In ancient times, a winepress was a place where grapes were trodden underfoot, a vivid metaphor for the severity and thoroughness of God's judgment against sin. This imagery is consistent with Old Testament prophecies, such as Isaiah 63:3, where God treads the winepress alone, signifying His sole authority in executing judgment. outside the city
The phrase "outside the city" holds significant theological implications. In biblical times, being outside the city often meant being outside the place of protection and blessing. Jerusalem, the holy city, represents God's dwelling place and His people. Thus, the judgment occurring outside the city suggests a separation from God's presence and favor. This echoes the crucifixion of Christ, who suffered "outside the gate" (Hebrews 13:12), bearing the sins of the world. It underscores the seriousness of sin and the ultimate separation it causes from God. and blood flowed out of the press
The flowing of blood from the winepress is a stark and sobering image. Blood, in biblical terms, is often associated with life and sacrifice. Here, it represents the life that is forfeited due to sin and rebellion against God. The Greek word "haima" for blood emphasizes the reality and gravity of divine judgment. This imagery is reminiscent of the plagues in Egypt, where the Nile turned to blood, symbolizing God's power and judgment (Exodus 7:20-21). It serves as a reminder of the cost of sin and the ultimate justice of God. rising as high as the horses’ bridles
The height of the blood, reaching "as high as the horses’ bridles," conveys the overwhelming and total nature of God's judgment. Horses, often used in biblical times for war and conquest, symbolize strength and swiftness. The imagery suggests a battlefield drenched in blood, indicating the completeness of God's victory over evil. This phrase highlights the seriousness of divine retribution and the futility of opposing God's will. It serves as a call to repentance and a reminder of the ultimate triumph of righteousness. for a distance of 1,600 stadia
The measurement of "1,600 stadia" adds a specific and vast dimension to the scene. A stadion was an ancient Greek unit of length, approximately 607 feet, making 1,600 stadia roughly 184 miles. This extensive distance signifies the far-reaching impact of God's judgment. The number 1,600, being a square of 40, may symbolize completeness and universality, as the number 40 often represents a period of testing or judgment in Scripture (e.g., the 40 days of rain during the flood, the 40 years of Israel's wandering). This detail underscores the thoroughness and inevitability of God's justice across the earth. Persons / Places / Events 1. The WinepressSymbolic of God's judgment, the winepress represents the process of divine wrath being executed upon the wicked. In ancient times, a winepress was used to crush grapes to extract juice, symbolizing the crushing of evil. 2. Outside the CityThis phrase indicates that the judgment occurs outside the holy city, often interpreted as Jerusalem. It signifies separation from the sacred and the profane, emphasizing the exclusion of the wicked from God's presence. 3. Blood FlowingThe imagery of blood flowing as high as horses' bridles is a hyperbolic expression of the magnitude of God's judgment. It underscores the severity and completeness of divine retribution. 4. Horses' BridlesHorses were often associated with warfare in biblical times. The mention of horses' bridles suggests a battlefield scene, reinforcing the theme of divine warfare against evil. 5. 1,600 StadiaThis measurement, approximately 180 miles, symbolizes the vast extent of the judgment. The number 1,600 may also have symbolic significance, representing completeness (40 x 40). Teaching Points The Reality of Divine JudgmentGod's judgment is real and inevitable for those who reject Him. The vivid imagery serves as a warning to take God's justice seriously. The Separation of the Righteous and the WickedThe judgment occurring "outside the city" emphasizes the separation between those who belong to God and those who do not. Believers are called to live lives that reflect their citizenship in the holy city. The Completeness of God's JusticeThe extensive measurement of 1,600 stadia illustrates the thoroughness of God's judgment. It reassures believers that evil will be fully and finally dealt with. The Urgency of RepentanceThe graphic depiction of judgment should motivate individuals to repent and turn to God, seeking His mercy and grace before it is too late. The Hope of RedemptionWhile the passage focuses on judgment, it also points to the hope of redemption for those who are in Christ, who have been spared from this wrath. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the imagery of the winepress in Revelation 14:20 help us understand the nature of God's judgment? 2. What is the significance of the judgment occurring "outside the city," and how does this relate to the concept of holiness in the Bible? 3. In what ways does the description of blood flowing as high as horses' bridles challenge or affirm your understanding of God's justice? 4. How can the measurement of 1,600 stadia be interpreted symbolically, and what does it teach us about the scope of God's judgment? 5. Considering the urgency of repentance highlighted in this passage, how can we apply this urgency in our daily lives and in sharing the gospel with others? Connections to Other Scriptures Isaiah 63:1-6This passage describes the Lord's vengeance and the imagery of treading the winepress, providing a prophetic backdrop to Revelation 14:20. Joel 3:13The prophet Joel also uses the imagery of a winepress to describe the judgment of the nations, highlighting the consistency of this symbol throughout Scripture. Revelation 19:15This verse further develops the theme of the winepress of God's wrath, connecting it to the return of Christ and the final battle against evil. People JohnPlaces Babylon, Mount Zion, PatmosTopics 1, Blood, 600, Bridle, Bridles, Crushed, Distance, Flowed, Foot, Forth, Furlongs, Grapes, Head-bands, Horse, Horses, Horse's, Hundred, Miles, Outside, Press, Reaching, Rising, Six, Space, Stadia, Thousand, Town, Trodden, Wine, Winepress, Wine-pressDictionary of Bible Themes Revelation 14:20 4657 horse Revelation 14:17-20 4458 grape Library The Approval of the Spirit
TEXT: "Yea, saith the Spirit."--Rev. 14:31. The world has had many notable galleries of art in which we have been enabled to study the beautiful landscape, to consider deeds of heroism which have made the past illustrious, in which we have also read the stories of saintly lives; but surpassing all these is the gallery of art in which we find the text. Humanly speaking John is the artist while he is an exile on the Island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea. The words he uses and the figures he presents …
J. Wilbur Chapman—And Judas IscariotThe Declensions of Christianity, an Argument of Its Truth.
"When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" That the coming of the Son of man, is here intended of Christ's coming at the commencement of the latter day glory, hath been alleged in the preceding discourse, and several considerations adduced in proof. Additional evidence will arise from a view of the prophecies relative to the great declensions which were to take place in the church, during the gospel day. These, we observed, are of two kinds, one, a corruption of religion, …
Andrew Lee et al—Sermons on Various Important Subjects Heavenly Worship
"Up to her courts, with joys unknown, The sacred tribes repaired." Between the wings of the cherubim Jehovah dwelt; on the one altar there all the sacrifices were offered to high heaven. They loved Mount Sion, and often did they sing, when they drew nigh to her, in their annual pilgrimages, "How amiable are thy tabernacles O Lord God of hosts, my King and my God!" Sion is now desolate; she hath been ravished by the enemy; she hath been utterly destroyed; her vail hath been rent asunder, and the virgin …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 3: 1857 20TH DAY. Bliss in Dying.
"He is Faithful that Promised." "Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord."--REV. xiv. 13. Bliss in Dying. My Soul! is this blessedness thine in prospect? Art thou ready, if called this night to lie down on thy death-pillow, sweetly to fall asleep in Jesus? What is the sting of death? It is sin. Is death, then, to thee, robbed of its sting, by having listened to the gracious accents of pardoning love, "Be of good cheer, thy sins, which are many, are all forgiven thee?" If thou hast made up thy …
John Ross Macduff—The Faithful Promiser Wherefore Also the virgins of God Without Blame Indeed...
49. Wherefore also the virgins of God without blame indeed, "follow the Lamb whithersoever He shall have gone," both the cleansing of sins being perfected, and virginity being kept, which, were it lost, could not return: but, because that same Apocalypse itself, wherein such unto one such were revealed, in this also praises them, that "in their mouth there was not found a lie:" [2205] let them remember in this also to be true, that they dare not say that they have not sin. Forsooth the same John, …
St. Augustine—Of Holy Virginity. Let the Inner Ear of the virgin Also...
24. Let the inner ear of the virgin also, thy holy child, hear these things. I shall see [2284] how far she goes before you in the Kingdom of That King: it is another question. Yet ye have found, mother and daughter, Him, Whom by beauty of chastity ye ought to please together, having despised, she all, you second, marriage. Certainly if there were husbands whom ye had to please, by this time, perhaps, you would feel ashamed to adorn yourself together with your daughter; now let it not shame you, …
St. Augustine—On the Good of Widowhood. Letter Xlix to Romanus, Sub-Deacon of the Roman Curia.
To Romanus, Sub-Deacon of the Roman Curia. He urges upon him the proposal of the religious life, recalling the thought of death. Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux, to his dear Romanus, as to his friend. MY DEAREST FRIEND, How good you are to me in renewing by a letter the sweet recollection of yourself and in excusing my tiresome delay. It is not possible that any forgetfulness of your affection could ever invade the hearts of those who love you; but, I confess, I thought you had almost forgotten yourself …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux Whether virginity is the Greatest of virtues?
Objection 1: It would seem that virginity is the greatest of virtues. For Cyprian says (De Virgin. [*De Habitu Virg.]): "We address ourselves now to the virgins. Sublime is their glory, but no less exalted is their vocation. They are a flower of the Church's sowing, the pride and ornament of spiritual grace, the most honored portion of Christ's flock." Objection 2: Further, a greater reward is due to the greater virtue. Now the greatest reward is due to virginity, namely the hundredfold fruit, according …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica The Glory of the virgins and Religious.
Here are two other bright throngs that present themselves. They are the holy Virgins and the Religious. Let us first contemplate the bright glory of the virgins. I quote again from the Apocalypse: "And I heard a great voice from heaven. . . . And the voice which I heard was as the voice of harpers, harping upon their harps. And they sang as it were a new canticle before the throne. . . . And no man could say that canticle but those hundred and forty-four thousand. These are they who were not defiled …
F. J. Boudreaux—The Happiness of Heaven Naked or Clothed?
'As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.'--ECCLES. v. 15. '... Their works do follow them.'--REV. xiv. 13. It is to be observed that these two sharply contrasted texts do not refer to the same persons. The former is spoken of a rich worldling, the latter of 'the dead who die in the Lord.' The unrelieved gloom of the one is as a dark background against which the triumphant assurance of …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Ripe for Gathering
'Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit. 2. And He said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the Lord unto me, The end is come upon My people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more. 3. And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord God: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence. 4. Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Which Sentence Dishonoreth the Holy Martyrs, Nay Rather Taketh Away Holy Martyrdoms Altogether. ...
3. Which sentence dishonoreth the holy Martyrs, nay rather taketh away holy martyrdoms altogether. For they would do more justly and wisely, according to these men, not to confess to their persecutors that they were Christians, and by confessing make them murderers: but rather by telling a lie, and denying what they were, should both themselves keep safe the convenience of the flesh and purpose of the heart, and not allow those to accomplish the wickedness which they had conceived in their mind. …
St. Augustine—Against Lying Therefore, if we Compare the Things Themselves, we May no Way Doubt that The...
28. Therefore, if we compare the things themselves, we may no way doubt that the chastity of continence is better than marriage chastity, whilst yet both are good: but when we compare the persons, he is better, who hath a greater good than another. Further, he who hath a greater of the same kind, hath also that which is less; but he, who only hath what is less, assuredly hath not that which is greater. For in sixty, thirty also are contained, not sixty also in thirty. But not to work from out that …
St. Augustine—On the Good of Marriage Letter Lii to Another Holy virgin.
To Another Holy Virgin. Under a religious habit she had continued to have a spirit given up to the world, and Bernard praises her for coming to a sense of her duty; he exhorts her not to neglect the grace given to her. 1. It is the source of great joy to me to hear that you are willing to strive after that true and perfect joy, which belongs not to earth but to heaven; that is, not to this, vale of tears, but to that city of God which the rivers of the flood thereof make glad (Ps. xlvi. 4). And in …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux A Treatise of the Fear of God;
SHOWING WHAT IT IS, AND HOW DISTINGUISHED FROM THAT WHICH IS NOT SO. ALSO, WHENCE IT COMES; WHO HAS IT; WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS; AND WHAT THE PRIVILEGES OF THOSE THAT HAVE IT IN THEIR HEARTS. London: Printed for N. Ponder, at the Peacock in the Poultry, over against the Stocks market: 1679. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," and "a fountain of life"--the foundation on which all wisdom rests, as well as the source from whence it emanates. Upon a principle …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 Appendix the Daughters of Jerusalem
The question is frequently asked, Who are represented by the daughters of Jerusalem? They are clearly not the bride, yet they are not far removed from her. They know where the Bridegroom makes His flock to rest at noon; they are charged by the Bridegroom not to stir up nor awaken His love when she rests, abiding in Him; they draw attention to the Bridegroom as with dignity and pomp He comes up from the wilderness; their love-gifts adorn His chariot of state; they are appealed to by the bride for …
J. Hudson Taylor—Union and Communion Vanity of Human Glory.
"The world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not."--1 John iii. 1 Of St. Simon and St. Jude, the Saints whom we this day commemorate, little is known[1]. St. Jude, indeed, still lives in the Church in his Catholic epistle; but of his history we only know that he was brother to St. James the Less, and nearly related to our Lord and that, like St. Peter, he had been a married man. Besides his name of Jude or Judas, he is also called Thaddaeus and Lebbaeus in the Gospels. Of St. Simon we only …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII Links Revelation 14:20 NIVRevelation 14:20 NLTRevelation 14:20 ESVRevelation 14:20 NASBRevelation 14:20 KJV
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