This Is the Hidden Meaning of the Winepress in Revelation [Jesus Like You've Never Seen Him]

Why Does Jesus Ride a White Horse in Revelation Covered in Blood?

What is the meaning of the winepress in the Bible?

While Jesus is often depicted as a gentle, loving figure, did you know that he was also portrayed as a warrior covered in the blood of his enemies, riding a white horse in Revelation?

And did you know that the early church fathers might have gotten this image wrong, resulting in hundreds of years of misrepresentations about Jesus?

There’s an interesting picture of Jesus in the book of Revelation:

Revelation 19:11-15 NIV

11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.

Let’s explore what this passage means, and why its origin could be VERY misinterpreted.

The Origin of the Meaning of the Winepress in Revelation

Biblical authors usually get their inspiration from the earlier writers.

That’s why you’ll read something in one particular place in the Bible and think to yourself, “That sounds really familiar!”

The New Testament writers borrow language and themes from the Old Testament.

Even the people in the Old Testament, such as Isaiah and Ezekiel, got ideas from the even earlier books.

These “earlier books” are the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible).

You see, the Pentateuch was a very important book to the ancient Israelites.

So, all the books in your Bible after Deuteronomy draw ideas from this Pentateuch.

And that’s actually where the origin of this winepress comes from—the Pentateuch.

It all began with a very special prayer from Jacob.

Judah Will Reign

When Jacob is about to die, he summons his sons before him to speak a blessing over them.

Here is what he says about Judah:

Genesis 49:8-12

8 “Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons will bow down to you. 9 You are a lion’s cub, Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness—who dares to rouse him? 10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his. 11 He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. 12 His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk.

Judah was going to rule with an iron fist. He would conquer his enemies like a lion.

Then, someone would come to whom the scepter really belongs. Everyone agrees that this is a prophecy of Jesus.

Jesus did come from the tribe of Judah—the lion of the tribe of Judah.

It also says that Jesus would wash his garments in wine, and his robes in the blood of grapes.

At this point, we really don’t know exactly what that means.

Some say it shows there is so much wine that it’s literally everywhere, like water.

He has so much that he can even clean his clothes with it!

Of course, no one really washes clothes in wine. It would be just a way to say that Judah (or Jesus) would have abundance. [1]

Still, there could be something else brewing here.

The “scepter” is the sign of royal power—one who reigns and makes laws.

But here, it might refer to a staff or mace of a warrior chief.

If that’s the case, the term “between his feet” could allude to an army that follows the warrior chief. [2]

Which might mean that the red grape juice all over his clothes could refer to the blood of his enemies that he conquers!

So, we have two possibilities for the meaning of Jesus having his robes washed in grape juice:

1. It refers to Jesus/Judah having abundance and joy (lots of wine)

2. Or, it refers to the blood of his enemies (he’s a warrior God)

Some see both meanings here. Notice that it says he will wash in both wine and grapes' blood.

Wine is not the same as grape blood (juice). Wine is the finished product, while the juice comes from crushing the grapes.

It could show two sides of Jesus: A washing in wine and a washing in blood.

To those who believed in him, he would bring joy and fullness (wine), but to those who reject him, he brings terror and judgment (grape blood). [3]

If we keep reading and allowing the Bible to interpret itself, we can get a better-informed answer.

Remember, later writers would borrow from this passage. Isaiah, however, gives us a better picture.

Isaiah’s Interpretation of a Bloody Jesus

Here is how Isaiah explains it:

Isaiah 63:1-6

1 Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength? “It is I, proclaiming victory, mighty to save.” 2 Why are your garments red, like those of one treading the winepress? 3 “I have trodden the winepress alone; from the nations no one was with me. I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath; their blood spattered my garments, and I stained all my clothing. 4 It was for me the day of vengeance; the year for me to redeem had come. 5 I looked, but there was no one to help, I was appalled that no one gave support; so my own arm achieved salvation for me, and my own wrath sustained me. 6 I trampled the nations in my anger; in my wrath I made them drunk and poured their blood on the ground.”

Isaiah borrows from Genesis 49, which shows that he is reading the Pentateuch along with his prophecy. [4]

He is applying the image of juice-stained clothing to God, their redeemer.

Edom was a nation south of Israel that often oppressed them, and Bozrah was their royal capital-city.

The passage says that someone was returning to Israel from Edom, wearing red-stained clothing.

As he approached, they asked him why his clothes were stained red, as if he were treading in a winepress.

Let’s stop here and understand how a wine press worked in the Old Testament days.

A winepress was a sunken area where they would throw their grape harvest and stomp the grapes barefoot.

Squashing the grapes was usually a joyful thing, so there would be shouts of joy and singing while the work was being done.

It reminds me a little bit of the Hispanic culture where I live in South Texas, where people throw out “gritos.”

You might hear a Hispanic person doing these high-pitched shouts of joy during a good song.

The juice would flow into jars while the squashing, singing, and shouts of joy were going on. [5]

You can imagine that working in the winepress all day would result in your clothes getting soaked in red grape juice.

In Isaiah 63, when the approaching savior is asked about his clothes, he says that he alone was working in the winepress.

However, he’s speaking symbolically. The red stains on his clothes are actually the blood of surrounding nations!

He says He trampled them in his wrath on the day of vengeance.

This is a picture of God slaying Israel’s enemies (Edom).

The chapter goes on to say that God had truly blessed His people, but they rebelled, so He actually started fighting against them:

Isaiah 63:9-10

9 In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. 10 Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he turned and became their enemy and he himself fought against them.

Finally, Isaiah prophesies what would happen to the Israelites themselves because of their rebellion:

Isaiah 63:18

For a little while your people possessed your holy place, but now our enemies have trampled down your sanctuary.

Some years after Isaiah prophesied this, the Babylonians came in and destroyed Jerusalem, taking many of them as slaves.

When this happened, Jeremiah described it as the Lord crushing the Israelites in a winepress:

Lamentations 1:15

​​“The Lord has rejected all the warriors in my midst; he has summoned an army against me to crush my young men. In his winepress the Lord has trampled Virgin Daughter Judah.

God used the Babylonian army to enforce his judgment upon Judah, and now, He is covered in their blood.

What the Winepress Imagery Represents

So far, we’re learning that the imagery of treading on the grapes is used in a few places in judgment contexts, so the symbolism in Isaiah and Lamentations is not unusual. [6]

The word for "trampling" in Isaiah 63 doesn’t usually mean stepping on grapes—it’s used when people are crushed in battle.

In this picture, God is stepping on grapes, but the grapes stand for the nations.

As He crushes them, their juice—called “blood” in some Bibles—splashes on His clothes. That’s why His clothes got all dirty and stained. [7]

Remember, Genesis 49 also says that Jesus would have “blood” on his robes.

The picture we’re starting to see more clearly is that these things:

• The winepress

• The trampling

• The squashing of the grapes

• “Juice-stained” clothing

… are all figurative ways in which the Biblical authors described:

• The Day of the Lord, Day of Vengeance, or the Coming of the Lord

• God’s wrath

• The judgment of God brought on by using a heathen army

• Blood-stained clothing

Grape treading provided a dramatic metaphor for ruthless trampling by invading armies.

Consider the lyrics for the famous song, “The Battle Hymn of the Republic:”

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord,

He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored,

He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword,

His truth is marching on.

The Day of the Lord was a time when God’s judgment would come upon the Israelites or their neighbors.

God would trample the people like grapes in a wine press—all their blood would gush out on His robes.

But the day of the Lord was also poetically depicted with lightning, swords, and so much more:

Zechariah 9:14 ESV

Then the Lord will appear over them, and his arrow will go forth like lightning; the Lord God will sound the trumpet and will march forth in the whirlwinds of the south.

Matthew 24:27

For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Revelation 4:5

From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder..

Isaiah 66:15-16

For behold, the Lord will come in fire, and his chariots like the whirlwind, to render his anger in fury... For by fire will the Lord enter into judgment, and by his sword, with all flesh...

Ezekiel 21:9-10

A sword, a sword is sharpened and also polished, sharpened for slaughter, polished to flash like lightning!

How the Early Church Fathers Got This Picture Wrong

We’ve already seen that Genesis 49 has applied this bloody grape-stomper to Jesus.

What did that passage mean when it said that Jesus would have blood on him?

In a bit, we’ll see how Revelation also applies this picture to Jesus and what it means in even more detail.

For now, it’s essential to grasp why proper Bible study is necessary. We’ll look at some of the church fathers to see this.

Here is a question: If Jesus (or God) is in the winepress, whose blood will get on him?

That’s right—whoever is getting stomped!

In all the winepress imagery we’ve seen so far, is Jesus the one getting stomped? NO.

In all the scriptures, Jesus is the one stomping either the Israelites or the heathen nations.

However, if you study church history, very early on, you’ll see some interpreting the winepress scriptures in this manner:

“He has trodden the winepress alone in which he was himself pressed, for with his own strength he patiently overcame suffering." [8]

St. Gregory the Great, AD 540-604

As you can see, Gregory the Great interpreted the winepress scriptures, in which Jesus had bloody clothing, to be about Jesus himself being squashed and having his own blood on him.

And Tertullian (around 200 AD) says this about Isaiah 63: [9]

“The prophetic Spirit contemplates the Lord as if He were already on His way to His passion, clad in His fleshly nature; and as He was to suffer therein, He represents the bleeding condition of His flesh under the metaphor of garments dyed in red, as if reddened in the treading and crushing process of the wine-press, from which the labourers descend reddened with the wine-juice, like men stained in blood. Much more clearly still does the book of Genesis foretell this, when (in the blessing of Judah, out of whose tribe Christ was to come according to the flesh) it even then delineated Christ in the person of that patriarch, saying, He washed His garments in wine, and His clothes in the blood of grapes Genesis 49:11 — in His garments and clothes the prophecy pointed out his flesh, and His blood in the wine.”

He is essentially doing the same thing—saying that winepress imagery refers to Christ’s passion.

Justin Martyr (AD 100-165) and Augustine (AD 354-430) do the same: [10]

“For Justin Martyr, the Isaian image of the wine-stained man treading the winepress alone proclaimed the bloodstained and crucified Christ singly treading out the vintage for his redeemed. Augustine endorses this hermeneutic for the winepress in his Commentaries on the Psalms. Expounding Psalm 83, Augustine modifies the meaning of the image and figures Jesus as the bruised and crushed grape-cluster rather than as the grape-treader. Augustine praises Jesus, likening him to grapes prepared for the winepress, his skin flayed and his body wrung out upon the cross. Likewise, Augustine admonishes that Christians who prosper in their faith like rich grapes or olives should expect to follow Christ’s example and be ‘pressed’ by their persecutors…”

Interpretations like these from early church fathers about “Jesus being crushed in the winepress” would lead to later artistic portrayals of this theme, such as that in Johann Sebastian Bach’s church cantata, Gott fähret auf mit Jauchzen (1726):

It is He, who completely alone

has trod upon the winepress

full of sorrow, torment and pain,

to save the lost ones

through a precious purchase.

If you think about it, the song is slightly confusing.

Why would a person “trodding” grapes be full of “torment and pain,” being drained of his blood?

The only sad and bleeding one in that situation would be the grapes!

Also, there are many paintings about Christ being crushed in the winepress, such as Christ in the Winepress, Austria, ca. 1400–1410:

Again, paintings like this are misleading (at least in my mind).

Like this one, the paintings I’ve seen portray later technology found in winepresses that would not have existed in OT days.

Genesis and Isaiah would have envisioned a manual winepress where the grapes were squashed by foot.

This is precisely why the treader would be stained with grape juice—he was in there, up close and personal, doing the squashing!

The winepress in the above picture seems more like a Roman period (first century) design using screw presses. A large wooden screw (turned by hand or a wheel) lowered a crossbeam or plank to squash the grapes.  

You can even see this represented in some paintings, where Christ and grapes are in this mechanical press, and God is turning the wheel by hand, squashing them both.

In this case, there is no need for someone to be IN the press.

That’s what the giant plank is for—to come down and crush the grapes.

However, the paintings follow early church fathers’ interpretations and views about Christ being in the winepress.

They see him as both the treader and the one being treaded.

However, the dominant, prevailing, and visible view from early church fathers about these winepress scriptures is that Christ himself was in the winepress, not primarily because he was treading the grapes, but because he was the substitute for them, being crushed himself.

Christ is not represented as dominating the nations in these paintings, writings, and songs.

He’s only seen as the one being slain.

The church fathers actually interpreted scriptures like this all the time.

They knew what they were saying was likely not what the original author meant.

But to them, their interpretations were still correct because they were stating the “spiritual meaning” of the scripture.

They believed you could take a scripture, say that this means that and that means this, and that would be OK, because the Spirit reveals multiple meanings from a passage.

As long as their “spiritual interpretation” didn’t violate other scriptures and, in fact, revealed deeper meanings and amplified the original ones, then this method was OK.

Now, let me be clear: I do not have an immediate problem with this spiritual method. We can learn a lot from it.

And you know what? We do it all the time!

I preach messages and say things like, “Christ coming out of the grave could represent you coming out of your depression.”

That’s a spiritual interpretation of the resurrection passages.

There’s nothing wrong with it. It offers meaning and encouragement for you today and doesn’t contradict other biblical messages.

In the winepress passages, the church fathers make a spiritual connection to Christ by saying that he is the one actually being crushed.

Their approach to the Bible was very “Christ-centered.” They saw Jesus and his sacrifice in everything and everyone.

And again, there’s nothing wrong with this interpretation.

In fact, they often quoted Isaiah 53:5 to back up their meaning:

“But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities…”

There’s no mention of a winepress here, but it does say that Christ would be crushed.

Here’s the point I’m trying to make:

Even though Christ was crushed for our sakes, and one could picture him in a mechanical press being squashed, I see a problem when we make this the dominant interpretation of all these passages.

Not just because these interpretations are not what the authors intended to say.

But also because it misses the more glorious, more profound, more victorious, and bigger picture of Jesus.

There’s another side to Jesus that is just as essential and more accurate to the text.

He wasn’t just killed. The winepress passages actually represent that he resurrected and dominated his enemies, reigning over the nations.

This is why it all started with Genesis 49 and a bloody Jesus.

Christ the Judge and the Grapes of Wrath

The winepress metaphor actually has no relevance to Christ’s sacrifice, but only to judgment (we’ll look at Rev 14:19-20; 19:11-16 in a sec).

The Book of Revelation clearly takes Isaiah 63 to be fulfilled in Christ as the Judge.

The Lord declares that he has executed the judgment himself alone (he alone has treaded in the winepress). [11]

As I said, people often sang and shouted while stomping the grapes.

But look what God says:

Isaiah 16:10

And joy and gladness are taken away from the fruitful field, and in the vineyards no songs are sung, no cheers are raised; no treader treads out wine in the presses; I have put an end to the shouting.

God has stopped their shouting in the winepress by judging them in the winepress by squashing them!

The picture of a bloody Jesus starts in Matthew:

Matthew 21:33

33 “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country.

The master planted grapes and installed a winepress. Winepresses were common structures if a person planted grapes.

But the mention of a winepress here indicates that Jesus is alluding to some type of coming judgment.

Matthew 21:34-36

34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. 35 And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them.

Remember, the owner wasn’t staying in this land. He was kind of using it as an Airbnb, leasing it out to tenants.

Apparently, the tenants had no rights to the grapes. They were just staying there.

So, when the master knew that his grapes were ready to be harvested, he sent his servants to the field to get them and squash them in the winepress.

But each time he sent servants, the tenants killed or beat them!

The servants represent the prophets God sent through the centuries to preach to Israel and get them to repent and return to God.

The tenants represent the Israelites who killed these prophets (Matt. 23:37).

Matthew 21:37-39

37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39 And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

Last, God sent His only son to them. Jesus prophesies his own death here.

The Jews killed him, too! At this point, Jesus was the one being judged and slain.

Matthew 21:40-41

40 When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”

Jesus asks them a rhetorical question, and they answer correctly.

The owner would judge and kill the tenants, then give the vineyard to other people who offered fruit.

In other words, God was going to judge and kill the unbelieving Israelites, then give the kingdom to the church—believing Jews and Gentiles in one body.

Matthew 21:42-45

42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? 43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. 44 And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” 45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them.

Jesus was the “stone” or “chief cornerstone.”

Notice how it says that this stone would now crush them.

Jesus was prophesied to have blood on his clothes because he was going to crush the unbelieving Israelites, trampling them like grapes in a winepress.

This is exactly what the Book of Revelation is about—God's judgment on Jerusalem for their unbelief in the Son.

This happened in AD 70, when God sent the Roman army to trample Israel. At this time, the Jewish system and the Old Covenant ended.

Their temple and city were destroyed. God issued judgment much like he did to them in the Old Testament with the Babylonians.

Revelation 14:19-20

19 So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse's bridle, for 1,600 stadia.

The Greek word for “earth” here is γῆ (“gay”), which, in this context, is better rendered as “land.”

What land? This is a judgment on the land of Israel. [12]

“It does not seem possible to suppose that St. John could have intended to apply these words to any other country than Israel, or to any other city than Jerusalem. They echo the words of St. John the Baptist, with which the whole Christian prophetic movement began, Even how is the axe laid to the root of the tree. What is contingent in the Baptist is absolute in Revelation. Israel is rejected.” [13] 

Everything we learned is summed up in this scripture:

Revelation 19:11-16

11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

Notice all of the similarities with Genesis 49—the eyes, bloody clothing, the army that follows the warrior chief, a rod of iron (scepter).

And also the winepress of fury and wrath.

Jesus came again in judgment in AD 70 to judge Jerusalem and put them in the winepress, and it all goes back to the Pentateuch.

Even the white horses play into this—horses were also often used in “trampling, judgment imagery” in the Old Testament.

Why This Winepress Imagery of Jesus Is Important

We cannot lose this more accurate picture of Jesus because it tells us the story of the critical judgment upon Israel and their Old Covenant.

It tells us the story of how the New Covenant, and indeed, how we as Christians, came to be.

Jesus reigns. He is on the throne, ruling the nations. He has judged the Old Covenant way, along with those who clung to it in AD 70.

And because of that judgment, we learn that we are free to live in a New Covenant, under a God who will not judge us because we are in him and do believe.

We also learn that this judgment is not waiting for us in the future—Revelation is not about the future end of the entire planet.

It is about a local judgment that occurred in Jerusalem around 2000 years ago.

Sure, Jesus was crushed. For us.

But just as important (and more accurate to the text), he also crushed our enemies and reigns in victory, having gone to battle. For us.

He has trampled the unbelief, the Old Covenant’s obsoleteness, the devil, and sin.

Sources

[1] William David Reyburn and Euan McG. Fry, A Handbook on Genesis, UBS Handbook Series (New York: United Bible Societies, 1998), 1087.

[2] John Peter Lange et al., A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Genesis (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2008), 656.

[3] Victor P. Hamilton, The Book of Genesis, Chapters 18–50, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995), 662.

[4] John H. Sailhamer, The Meaning of the Pentateuch: Revelation, Composition and Interpretation (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2009), 239.

[5] Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Beitzel, “Winepress,” Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988), 2148.

[6] Gary Smith, Isaiah 40-66, vol. 15B, The New American Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2009), 659.

[7] Ibid, 659–660.

[8] Gertrud Schiller, Iconography of Christian Art, vol. 2 (Greenwich, CT: New York Graphic Society, 1972), 228.

[9] Tertullian, Against Marcion, Book IV, Chapter 40, https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/03124.htm.

[10] Russell M. Hillier, “The Wreath, The Rock and The Winepress: Passion Iconography in Milton's Paradise Regain'd,” Literature and Theology, Volume 22, Issue 4, December 2008, Pages 387–405, https://doi.org/10.1093/litthe/frn009.

[11] Geoffrey W. Grogan, “Isaiah,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 6 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1986), 339.

[12] David Chilton, The Days of Vengeance: An Exposition of the Book of Revelation (Dallas, GA: Dominion Press, 2011), 375.

[13] Philip Carrington, The Meaning of the Revelation (London: SPCK, 1931), 256.

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