646. 14:16 So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped. This symbolizes the end of the church, because it no longer had any Divine truth in it.

This is the symbolic meaning, because He who sat on the cloud symbolizes the Lord in relation to the Word (no. 642). To thrust in the sickle and reap means, symbolically, to put an end to something and execute judgment (no. 643). The harvest symbolizes the state of the church, here its last state (nos. 643, 645). And the earth symbolizes the church (no. 285).

When these symbolic meanings are combined into one, it is apparent from them that "He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth and the earth was reaped" symbolizes the end of the church, because it no longer had any Divine truth in it.

Title: What Is So Bad about Babylon

Topic: Salvation

Summary: Babylon is singled out in the Bible for particularly strong condemnation, even hundreds of years after the literal Babylon was defunct. Why? What does it mean? (For the missing last ten minutes, see part 2.)

Use the reference links below to follow along in the Bible as you watch.

References:
Genesis 11:1-end
Isaiah 13; 14
Jeremiah 50
Isaiah 13:1-19; 14:4, 12-13; 21:9
Jeremiah 50:1-6, 26-27, 29, 31, 36-37, 40, 44; 51:7, 25, 39, 45
Revelation 14:8; 16:19; 17:3-4, 14-18; 18:2, 7, 15
Daniel 3:1, 5
Matthew 4:8-10