Bible Strands
Revelation 14:17
Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator describes a moment during the harvest sequence initiated in Revelation 14:14-15, where a divine messenger emerges from the heavenly temple to execute judgment. This event follows the initial reaping in Revelation 14:16 and immediately precedes the command from the altar in Revelation 14:18.
The words — The Greek text highlights ἄλλος (allos), meaning "another," and ναοῦ (naou), meaning "temple," to distinguish this messenger from the previous one and locate his origin in the divine sanctuary. These terms mark a sequential progression among the heavenly agents.
The thread — Messengers operating from the temple appear again in Revelation 16:1, where a voice commands the seven angels to pour out bowls. The progression of distinct angels wielding sickles for judgment continues directly into Revelation 14:18, which introduces a fourth agent with authority over fire.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition of a structured judicial process unfolding in stages rather than a single sudden act. It requires the reader to track each heavenly agent's origin and tool to understand the precise order of the coming judgment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
Cross-references
- Revelation 16:1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go, pour out on the earth the seven bowls of God’s wrath.”
- Revelation 14:14 And I looked and saw a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was One like the Son of Man, with a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand.
- Revelation 14:18 Still another angel, with authority over the fire, came from the altar and called out in a loud voice to the angel with the sharp sickle, “Swing your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the vine of the earth, because its grapes are ripe.”
- Revelation 15:5 After this I looked, and the temple—the tabernacle of the Testimony—was opened in heaven.