Revelation 14:16

And he that sat upon the cloud cast his sickle upon the earth; and the earth was reaped.

Cast his sickle ... the earth was reaped ... There was no laborious effort on the part of Christ; he merely threw the whole judgment into gear, and it was executed. The widespread association of the angels with Christ in the final judgment (Matthew 13:41,49; 2 Thessalonians 1:7, etc.) naturally suggests that innumerable angels will be operative under Christ's authority in the execution of the final judgment. The presence of a number of angels in the judgment scene here is in full harmony with this. They gather the golden grain of the harvest into the garner of eternal security. "All the faithful, without the loss of even one, shall be saved."[76]

The harvest of the earth is ripe ... "Contrary to human appearances, history is moving under the sovereignty of God."[77] If it is God's purpose to redeem "a certain number" from the earth, which many have supposed, the "ripeness" here could refer to the full achievement of God's purpose.

[76] Frank L. Cox, op. cit., p. 92.

[77] George Eldon Ladd, op. cit., p. 200.