This final section of Revelation 14 draws on several Old Testament themes to describe what appears to be the great final judgment. John sees someone “like a son of man” sitting on a cloud with a sickle in his hand. Who is this person who was “like a son of man?” Revelation 14 has a series of angels and “another angel” comes out of the temple in 14:15. Is this “son of man” another angel, or does Revelation 14:14 refer to the Messiah?
Revelation 14:14-16 draws on Daniel 7, but there are some differences. In Daniel 7:13, the son of man is sitting on the cloud, although Aune speculates John could be influenced by Psalm 110:1 as well (Aune, 2:840). In the Gospels, Jesus frequently refers to himself as the Son of Man and alludes to Daniel 7:13 in his eschatological discourse (Matt 24:30) and during his trial (Matt 26:64). In either case, the cloud refers to God’s glory rather than a form of transportation. This “son of man” appears with the authority of God himself, whether he is the messiah or an angel.
In favor of this being the messiah: The fact this “son of man” is sitting on a cloud implies John has Jesus is in mind. In Revelation 1:7 the author says Jesus is coming back in the clouds. There is a difference, however. In Revelation 1:7 clouds are plural, here in Revelation 14:14 it is a singular cloud. Daniel 7:13 is clearly messianic. If Revelation 14 is alluding to Daniel, then John intends the reader to pick up on the rest of Daniel 7. In both cases the “son of man” is sitting in judgment over Israel’s enemies.
There may be a structural hint that highlights this “son of man” as different from the other angles in Revelation 14. There are seven persons in Revelation 14: three angels, the “son of man,” and then three more angels. If this observation is valid, then the section is centered around the appearance of the “son of man” on a cloud to render justice.
In favor of this being an angel: In Revelation 14: 17 another angel appears, implying the “son of man” another angel in the fourth of seven in Revelation 14. John usually refers to the messiah as the Lamb in Revelation. The verse also says this is “something like a son of man,” a way of saying “human like.” Since Revelation 14:17-20 seems to allude to the gory battle found in Ezekiel 38-39, perhaps John is influenced by Ezekiel’s “son of man,” which means “human.” Beale suggests this angel represents God, since he is coming from the temple in heaven, therefore the command comes from God rather than the angel (Revelation, 771).
The rest of the description of this “son of man” does not help determine whether John intends the reader to understand this as the messiah or an angel since the images might be applied equally to Jesus or to an important angel.
The “son of man” wears a “crown of gold” on his head. This a victor’s crown (στέφανος, stephanos) as opposed to the royal crown (διάδημα, diadima) which rider on the white horse wears in Revelation 19:12. That the crown is gold The image is intended to express authority, Aune 2:842, he translates this as a “wreath of gold” rather than a crown. A diadem is “the sign of royalty among the Persians, a blue band trimmed with white, on the tiara, hence a symbol of royalty.” (BDAG) There are only three occurrences in Revelation, once referring to Christ, the other two referring to Satan! (Rev 12:3; 13:1-2; 19:12).
He holds a “sharp sickle in his hand.” A sickle is a “a large, curved knife employed in cutting ripe grain” (LN 6.5) The word is only found in this chapter and once in Mark 4:29, a parable of referring to eschatological judgment as a harvest. The word appears in the Septuagint for a literal farm too, but in Joel 3:13 a harvest refers to eschatological judgment. Like Revelation 14, Joel 3:13 refers to a harvest of wheat (a sickle) and grapes (“the winepress is full”). Joel 3:14-16 has a number of apocalyptic images and refers to the “valley of decision.” The image of death carrying a sickle is common in western art, but is also found in apocalyptic literature:
Testament of Abraham [rec A] 8:9-10 Do you not know that all those who (spring) from Adam and Eve die? And not one of the prophets escaped death, and not one of those who reign has been immortal. Not one of the forefathers has escaped the mystery of death. All have died, all have departed into Hades, all have been gathered by the sickle of Death.
This “son of man” therefore is poised to begin the final judgment. The harvest is ripe, and the sickle is ready. Although it is possible this could refer to some angel of death, one function of the messiah is to render judgment. In Matthew 3:12 John the Baptist says the one who is coming in similar terms: his “winnowing fork is in his hand” and he will sort out the wheat from the chaff. The wheat will go into the barn, the chaff will be burned “with unquenchable fire.” There are several harvest parables in the gospels in which Jesus places himself as a farmer who will sort out the wheat from the weeds or the sheep from the goats.
It is therefore likely John intends the reader to hear the echoes of Daniel 7:13 and Joel 3:13-14 in his description of a son of man sitting on the cloud, prepared to begin the final harvest of the earth.
Hi Philip, thanks for this. I agree with you that the Son of Man is a reference to Jesus, though I disagree with some of your detailed comments. I think the coming on the clouds in 1.7 is a reference to his ascension, not his return, and this accords more clearly with Rev 14. The wheat harvest is the judgement of the righteous, whilst the grape harvest is the judgement of the wicked. I give some details here:
https://www.psephizo.com/revelation/on-devils-details-and-reading-the-book-of-revelation/
Bible states,” LIKE the son of man”
Absolute horseshit: the “son of man” like “the son(s) of thunder” refer to mushrooms.
I laugh in the face of all you so called hysterical Biblical Scholars (the more if they’re Americans): lies, obfuscation, false historicity, Judeo Christian make over of the original extatic Earth Godess religions & cults prior to “historic christianity”. The crusified christ is the biggest con and perversion ever sold to mankind.
Pieter God loves you Jesus died for you i will pray for you. That you may find peace in the word.
Revelation 14:14 describes someone ‘like a son of man’ who has a golden crown and a sharp sickle in his hand, followed by a description of another angel telling this one to reap the harvest of the earth. The identity and purpose of this son of man and his reaping of the earth have undergone much scholarship and consideration, with several options being presented. The first is that this son of man is Jesus Christ, drawing on imagery from Daniel 7:13 and Revelation 1:7, which portrays Jesus as descending from the clouds (Long, 258). This would be drawn from the Gospels where Jesus refers to Himself as the ‘Son of man’, including in Matthew 26:64 where He claims to be the Son of Man descending from the clouds, which was understood as a messianic passage. However, other passages and books, such as Ezekiel, use the term ‘son of man’ concerning humans, not necessarily a figure of the Godhead. Additionally, in the Book of Revelation, the Messiah is usually referred to as the Lamb, why add new language for this figure? (Long, 258). In Revelation 14:14, this figure is described as being ‘like’ a son of man, implying this may not be a messianic use of this phrase. Another issue is that the passage describes another angel appearing and commanding this first angel to begin his judgment, what angel would have authority over Christ? Some commentators such as G.K. Beale argue that this second angel is God the Father, thus justifying His command of this first angel, assuming it is Jesus. Yet, it seems strange to me that they would describe God the Father in such mundane terms as well, it seems more likely, especially given the first angel’s role of judgment, that these are both angels. The first angel is tasked with judgment, with the second commanding this event to take place. Pulling from Joel 3:13, the harvest is ripe and the hour has come, the inauguration of final judgment has occurred. Jesus will enact the fullness of the final judgment, but perhaps the angels will begin the process, that would seem the likely conclusion given this interpretation. However, one must always maintain an epistemological humility when approaching these types of texts, as they are intentionally vague and symbolic, leading to some uncertainty of interpretation.
In Revelation 14:14, someone who is like the son of man is introduced. However, people are unsure if this “son of man” is Jesus or just another angel. Revelation 14:14 says “Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand.” There are two signs in this verse that point to Jesus being the son of man rather than it referring to an angel. The first is that the “son of man” in Revelation 14 is sitting on a white cloud. This points in favor of it being Jesus because there are a few verses in the Bible, such as Revelation 1:7 and Matthew 24:30, which talk about Jesus coming on the clouds. Revelation 1:7 says “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him.” Matthew 24:30 says something similar to this by saying, “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.” These are just two examples that point to Jesus returning on the clouds. However, there is one key difference. In Revelation 14, the “son of man” is sitting on a singular cloud whereas when Jesus comes, he will come down on multiple clouds. Another clue that points to Jesus being the “son of man” in Revelation 14 is that the man is wearing a golden crown on his head. During Jesus’s crucifixion, he wears a crown of thorns on his head. It is possible that the golden crown could represent the crown of thorns that Jesus wore, however, this could also be jumping to conclusions. I would opt for the view that the “son of man” refers to an angel, but that does not mean that there is no possible way that it refers to Jesus.
Revelation 14:14 describes a figure ‘seated on a cloud’ wearing a golden crown and a sharp sickle in his hand, with another angelic figure telling him to reap the harvest and the time is ripe (Rev 14:15). Scholarly debate ensures surrounding the identity of this figure, as some will argue that it is Jesus the Messiah or an angelic figure serving a prominent role in the eschatological unfolding of judgment (Long, 2020). This passage seems to draw heavily on Daniel 7:13, which describes a figure ‘like a son of man’ riding upon a cloud to the Ancient of Days. While other Old Testament literature, such as the Book of Ezekiel, will utilize the phrase ‘son of man’, Daniel 7 is one of the few references that carry undeniably messianic undertones, as Baal was often described as riding upon a cloud, meaning this is a claim of divinity. Yet, some question the strength of Revelation 14:14 in relation to Daniel 7:13, as v. 15 states that ‘another’ (ἄλλος) angel told this son of man to reap the harvest, implying that this is an angelic figure that has a specific role (Long, 2020). However, others will point out that Revelation 1:7 says that Jesus will return on the clouds, with the additional argument that the Jewish believing audience would connect Daniel 7:13 with this passage, despite its lose association. When analyzing this debate, I am frankly unsure of the identification of this figure, although it seems likely that this is an angelic figure, not describing Jesus Christ. While the identification of this figure with a son of man in a cloud (in the singular, as opposed to Rev 1:7 reference to Christ on the ‘clouds’) is rather strange given John’s Jewish audience, one would think that he would be more careful with this reference. Perhaps the son of man traditions were expansive enough for the audience to decipher between the messianic and angelic son of man references effectively. Either way, deeper study is required and I simply think humility when approaching this figure is the best course of action.