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God spoke through Moses to the Israelites about the three annual festivals they must observe when they arrive at the Promised Land; a part of Israel’s covenant obligations given at Sinai
First, the festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Harvest to be celebrated with firstfruits, and the Festival of Ingathering to be observed at the end of the agricultural year
All Israelite males must appear before the Sovereign Lord these three times, not empty-handed but sacrificing the best portions
The blood of sacrifice must be void of anything containing yeast, the fats of festival offerings must not be kept till morning, and a young goat must not be cooked in its mother’s milk
On their journey to the Promised Land, they should obey God’s angel (also closely identified with God himself), who would guard them along the way and be an enemy to their enemies if they listen to and do what he says.
The Revelation of John in the second lesson speaks of the harvest of the earth and the trampling of the winepress.
John saw the exalted Son of Man (Dan 7:13, Matt 24:30; 26:64) with the crown of God, instructed by an angel to harvest the earth, for the fruit on the earth is ripe.
And the earth was harvested.
The harvest of the earth depicts the gathering of God’s people into eternal rest, while trampling the winepress describes the judgment of the wicked
The second harvest involves gathering grape clusters and crushing the grapes in the winepress.
This typical method of collecting juice symbolizes God’s wrath in destroying the wicked nations
The winepress was used as a relatable example for John’s immediate audience, to show how God would express his anger and judgment
Notably, the outcome of this crush was not wine but blood, representing pain and anguish for the wicked