14:14 I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man[b] with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.
I looked,
The previous verse, John "heard". Now he takes a look, probably because the vision contains a Person he is familiar with.
and there before me was a white cloud,
The white cloud indicates the Shekinah or "glory of God". Recall that the waters above the firmanent probably are clouds (Genesis 1:7).
WHITE denotes PURITY.
and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man[b]
When One is reigning in judgment, the leader, king, or judge usually is seated. Here the Son of Man is SITTING waiting for the pending judgment/harvest. This Son of Man described this scene in Matthew 24:29-31.
There are two contrasts here. First one of water, and second of the Son of Man.
Water:
The Son of Man sits on the WHITE CLOUD; in Revelation 17:1,15, the harlot sits on many waters. If water is related to spirits' abode, then the cloud denotes the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Son of Man:
Compare the use of "Son of Man" by Christ in Matthew 13:36-37-43.
On this earth in poverty (Matthew 8:20)
Made to wear a "crown of thorns" (Matthew 27:29)
Sitting on white cloud with POWER (sickle)
Sitting here with a GOLDEN CROWN.
with a crown of gold on his head and
See Psalm 21:3 for the prophetic version of this KINGLY picture. Wearing the CROWN denotes ultimate authority to carry out the task at hand.
sharp SICKLE in HIS HAND.
This description replicates that given in Joel 3:9-13-16.
One general observation: In the Old Testament, the feast of the tabernacles followed the harvest. So here, too, the harvest comes before the celebration (Revelation 19:1-10).
[b] See Daniel 7:13.