And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
Thrust in - `Send.' The angel does not command the "Son of man" (Revelation 14:14), but, as messenger, announces to the Son the will of God the Father, in whose hands are the times and the seasons.
Thy sickle - (Mark 4:29, where also He 'sendeth the sickle.') The Son sends His sickle-bearing angel to reap the righteous.
Harvest. By the harvest-reaping the elect righteous are gathered; by the vintage, the anti-Christian offenders are removed out of the earth-the scene of Christ's coming kingdom (Matthew 13:41-43). The Son of man Himself, with a golden crown, is introduced in the harvest-gathering of the elect, a mere angel in the vintage (Revelation 14:18-20).
Is ripe - `is dried:' all the bitter elements removed. Ripe for glory (Job 5:20). Is ripe - `is dried:' all the bitter elements removed. Ripe for glory (Job 5:20).