And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs. (Revelation 14:20)
The picture is probably drawn from OT prophecies describing the destruction of God’s enemies outside Jerusalem (see on Joel 3:12, 13).
Trodden.
The wine press in days of old was trodden by the feet of men (see on Isa. 63:2, 3).
Horse bridles.
A figure of speech indicating the great and complete slaughter of the wicked hosts. A parallel figure is found in the apocryphal book of Enoch: “And in those days in one place the fathers together with their sons shall be smitten And brothers one with another shall fall in death Till the streams flow with their blood.... And the horse shall walk up to the breast in the blood of sinners, And the chariot shall be submerged to its height” (ch. 100:1-3; R. H. Charles, The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, vol. 2, p. 271).
Furlongs.
Sixteen hundred furlongs would be about 184 mi. (see Vol. V, p. 50). No satisfactory explanation can be found for the particular number (1,600). Jerome thought it to be an allusion to the length of Palestine. This, however, is speculation, and adds little to the understanding of the passage. The main thought is that the enemies of the church of God are to be completely and finally overthrown. Therefore the church can look forward to full and complete deliverance from all her enemies, and to joyful triumph in the kingdom of God.