14:14 Caird argues that this section of John’s vision functions ironically, so that traditional, apocalyptic images of divine retribution are imaginatively transformed into a portrait of God’s salvation of the church’s martyrs (cf. Revelation, pp. 189–95). While one may disagree with aspects of Caird’s treatment, he has correctly called our attention to the language of salvation embedded in John’s description of “the great winepress of God’s wrath.” In this sense, John’s vision continues the angelic proclamation of the eternal gospel. He constantly keeps the concluding events of salvation’s history before the reader by recycling the judgment motif; accordingly, emphasis is properly placed on God’s coming triumph over an already defeated foe.

The vision of three additional angels begins wh…