"Babylon the Great Has Fallen!"

 Treading the Vines of the Earth

With the harvest of salvation completed, it is time for another harvest.  John reports: "And still another angel [the fifth] emerged from the  sanctuary that is in heaven, he, too, having a sharp sickle. And still another angel [the sixth] emerged from the altar and he had authority over the fire. And he called out with a loud voice to the one that had the sharp sickle, saying:  "Put your sharp sickle in and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, because its grapes have become ripe." (Revelation 14:17, 18)  The angelic hosts are entrusted with much harvesting during the Lord's day, separating the good from the bad!

The fifth angel comes from Jehovah's presence in temple sanctuary: hence, the final harvest also takes place according to Jehovah's will.  The angel is commanded to begin his work by a message relayed through another angel that  "emerged from the altar."  This fact is most significant, since faithful souls underneath the altar had asked:  "Until when Sovereign Lord holy and true, are you refraining from judging and avenging  our blood upon those who dwell on the earth?"  (Revelation 6:9, 10)  With the harvesting of the vine of the earth, this cry for vengeance will be satisfied.

But what is "the vine of the earth"?  In the Hebrew Scriptures, the Jewish nation was spoken of as Jehovah's vine.  (Isaiah 5:7; Jeremiah 2:21)  Similarly. Jesus Christ and those who will serve with him in God's Kingdom are spoken of as the vine. (John 15:1-8)  In this setting, the significant characteristic of a vine  is that it produces fruit, and the true Christians  vine has produced abundant fruit to Jehovah's praise. (Matthew 21:43)  "The vine of the earth," therefore, must be, not this genuine vine but Satan's imitation of it, his corrupt visible system of government over mankind, with it various "clusters" of demonic fruitage produced over the centuries.  Babylon the Great, in which apostate Christianity is so prominent , has exercised great influence over this poisonous vine.  -Compare DEUTERONOMY 32:32-25.

Judgment must be executed!   "And the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and he hurled it into the great winepress of was trodden outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress as high up as the bridles of the horses, for a distance of a thousand  six hundred  furlongs." (Revelation 14:19, 20)  Jehovah's indignation against this vine has long since been announced.  (Zephaniah 3:8) A prophecy  in this book of Isiah leaves no doubt that whole nations will be destroyed when the winepress is trampled.  (Isaiah   63:3-6) Joel too prophesied that huge  "crowds," whole nations, would trampled to destruction in "the winepress," in "the low plain of the decision. (Joel 3:12-14)  Truly, a stupendous  harvest the like of which will never again occur!  According to John's vision, not only are the grapes harvested but the whole symbolic vine is cut down and thrown into the winepress to be trampled. So the vine of the earth, will be stamped out and will never be able to grow again. 

Next  time: "Babylon the Great Has Fallen!" - Conclusion of Treading the Vine of the Earth

 From the jw.org publications