Just as we have seen in the sequence of the seven seals and the seven trumpets, there is an interlude between the sixth and the seventh of these judgment events.  Here too, we have a short interlude between the sixth and seventh signs.  V. 6-13 – The Three Angels interlude comes between the sixth sign and the final sign – the harvest of the earth.  It is a proclamation from the heavens of God’s judgment against evil.  The victory is soon to be realized by the faithful, the promise to the martyrs is nearing its fulfillment.

 

The people in the time that John is writing are agricultural people.  They can relate well to agricultural terms and illustrations.  John now speaks of an angel sitting on a cloud with a sickle ready to reap the harvest that is ripe for gathering.  The timing had to be just right to harvest a quality crop, and the window of time was narrow especially for grapes.  This scene is the climax of our overview of history as depicted by these seven significan signs.  Everything has built to this point and the time is right.  At the precise moment ordained by God, the earth is harvested and the final plan of God is enacted.