John sees Jesus sitting on a white cloud, symbolizing pure, righteous (just) judgment. He has been given all authority (Matt. 28:18), including the authority to judge (John 5:22, 27; Acts 10:42, 17:31; 2 Cor. 5:10; Rom. 2:16). He has a golden crown on his head, not a crown of thorns. He, also, has a sharp sickle in his hand. Matthew 24:30 reads, “Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” (Mark 13:25-27) Luke 21:27-28 reads, “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” These two passages refer to Christ’s coming on a cloud as a reward for the righteous.
The significance of Jesus having a sickle in his hand in connection with him sitting on a cloud represents the day of harvest. It is a sharp sickle as is His sword from His mouth (cf. Rev. 1:16; 19:15; Heb. 4:12). On that day, there is a separation of sheep on his right hand and goats on his left (Matthew 25:31-46), or the wheat into the barn and the burning of the chaff (Matt. 3:12), or the tares and wheat. Matthew 13:30 reads, “Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’ The reapers are His angels (Matt. 13:39-43). John 5:35-38 reads, “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” This harvest and Revelation 14:14 is the premillennial gathering of the elect (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43; 24:31; 2 Thess. 2:1; the “day approaching” of Hebrews 10:25).
Another angel came out of the temple with a message to Christ to reap because the hour, which only the Father knew (Matthew 24:36), has come to reap. The harvest of the earth is ripe (14:15). Christ cast His sickle to the earth and in a moment of time, the earth was reaped. John of Gishala’s rule of five months during the Roman siege (Rev. 9:5,10) is said to be a rule of “one hour” (Rev. 17:11,12). The city’s fall and destruction were also described as taking place in one hour (Rev. 18:10, 19). Whether any of these texts refer to a literal hour is of no consequence. The point is that there is a time of its coming and it will not last long. It’s here one moment and gone the next just as verse sixteen illustrates. No sooner had Christ cast his sickle upon the earth, the work was done and the reaping of the earth was completed. Another angel comes out of the heavenly temple with a sharp sickle to reap (v. 17).
Forty-five days after Jerusalem was destroyed, saints showed themselves alive. An interesting parallel is seen in the amount of time Jesus showed himself alive after the crucifixion before His ascension and the amount of time after the destruction of Jerusalem and the first resurrection. (See The Judgment of Babylon, the Great Harlot (Ch. 14) When the blameless shined as the brightness of the firmament (Dan. 12:3-4; Matt. 13:43), the identity of the true sons of God were was revealed (cf. Rom. 8:19). On that day, the redeemed and translated were not found for Christ took them (Gen. 5:21-24; Heb. 11:5; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; 1 Cor. 15:50-58; Matthew 24:40-44; 25:1-13). These were the first fruits of a new nation (Rev. 14:4).