And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth - That is, into that part of the earth which might be represented by a vineyard; or the earth considered as having been the abode of wicked men.

And cast it into the great wine-press of the wrath of God - See Isaiah 63:1-6. That is, the wine-press where the grapes are crushed, and where the juice, resembling blood, flows out, may be used as a symbol to denote the destruction of the wicked in the last day; and as the numbers will be immensely great, it is called the "great wine-press of divine wrath." The symbol appears to be used here alike with reference to the color of the wine resembling blood, and the pressure necessary to force it out; and thus employed it is one of the most striking emblems conceivable to denote the final destruction of the wicked.

The great winepress of the wrath of God - The place or kingdom where God executes his judgments on the workers of iniquity, whether pagans or persecuting Christians; Rome pagan, or Rome papal.

And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth,.... Before "upon the earth", when the harvest was gathered in, the wheat being on the earth, but not belonging to it; but here "into the earth", the vine being the vine of the earth, rooted in it, and natural to it:

and gathered the vine of the earth; the Arabic version reads, "of the whole earth"; in like manner as the tares in the parable are said to be gathered, and bound in bundles, and cast into the fire, which, as here, intends the destruction of the wicked, at the end of the world: this vine may be said to be cut down at the burning of the world, and to be gathered at the second resurrection, as the wheat harvest of the saints will be at the first resurrection:

and cast it into the great winepress the wrath of God; the same with the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, so often mentioned in this book: the torments of the wicked will lie in the wrath of God being poured forth upon them, and into them, which will be that fire that cannot be quenched, and that worm that never dies; and this is signified by the squeezing of grapes in a winepress, as God's judgments in this world sometimes are, Isaiah 63:3 and which will be very heavy and intolerable, since this winepress will be trod by the Lord God Almighty: and it is said to be a great one, as it must needs be, to hold the vine of the whole earth, or all the wicked of the world, who will be like the sand of the sea, innumerable; and this will be big enough for them all, and they will all be cast into it at once. Tophet is deep and large, Isaiah 30:33.

The great wine-press (τὴν ληὸν τὸν μέγαν)

The Greek student will note the masculine adjective with the feminine noun, possibly because the gender of the noun is doubtful. The Rev., in rendering more literally, is more forcible: the wine-press, the great wine-press. See on Matthew 21:33.

And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.

14:19 Cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. They were cast into the wine-press, then trodden under foot, and from the bruised and bleeding mass ran red juice like blood. The symbol implied delivery over to punishment and destruction. As the grapes were trodden and crushed in the wine-press, so the clusters of the vine of the earth (Re 14:18) are crushed under the wrath of God.

Margin angel

See Scofield Note: "Heb 1:4"

19. "The vine" is what is the subject of judgment because its grapes are not what God looked for considering its careful culture, but "wild grapes" (Isa 5:1-30). The apostate world of Christendom, not the world of heathendom who have not heard of Christ, is the object of judgment. Compare the emblem, Re 19:15; Isa 63:2, 3; Joe 3:13.

14:14-20 Warnings and judgments not having produced reformation, the sins of the nations are filled up, and they become ripe for judgments, represented by a harvest, an emblem which is used to signify the gathering of the righteous, when ripe for heaven, by the mercy of God. The harvest time is when the corn is ripe; when the believers are ripe for heaven, then the wheat of the earth shall be gathered into Christ's garner. And by a vintage. The enemies of Christ and his church are not destroyed, till by their sin they are ripe for ruin, and then he will spare them no longer. The wine-press is the wrath of God, some terrible calamity, probably the sword, shedding the blood of the wicked. The patience of God towards sinners, is the greatest miracle in the world; but, though lasting, it will not be everlasting; and ripeness in sin is a sure proof of judgment at hand.