The Great Supper of God

Revelation 19:16-18

Recap:

· Jesus has been shown on his horse leading the armies of heaven. Armies made up of angels, old and new testament saints.

· He is dressed in a garment that has been dipped in blood, he stands out. He is not incognito, he is visible. The world will know that this is Jesus.

· He comes to make war and judge this world, for its rebellion against God.

Vs 16 “And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.”

· In this verse, we come to the latter part of Jesus being illustrated. And in this verse it continues to describe him, but giving his kingly appearance.

· First, John is taking us to what the Lord has on. These exterior items that gird the Lord.

· Now the blood dipped vesture, now the literal translation of vesture to our modern English, is that this is a robe.

· Robes were the common garment of Israel in biblical times. Here, this kingly robe has powerful words written upon it.

· King of King and Lord of Lords, now this is capitalized. And the reason that it is capitalized is that this is referencing God himself.

· Remember, Jesus is God, he and the Father are one. So, just as we see in the Old Testament, the honor that is given to the name of God, here that same importance is shared.

· This once again, shows the Lord standing out from the rest. Those who follow him have on white garments, but the Lord has on red, and along with that, his identification.

· So, his garment stands out with his title. But then we have a controversial statement that is made. On his thigh, a name written.

· Now some would like to suggest that this is a tattoo with the title of the Lord. But I really do not think that is what John is explaining.

· First, remember that Jesus was, and is, a Jew. And the Jewish Law warns, “Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:28). Jesus, as an obedient Jew, bound by Mosaic Law, would not take a tattoo. Jesus came to Earth to fulfill the Mosaic Law, not violate it (Matthew 5:17).

· The book of Revelation is filled with symbolism, and the description in Revelation 19:16 is symbolic. In the same passage, Jesus’ eyes are said to be “like blazing fire” (verse 12), His robe is soaked in blood (verse 13), and there’s a sword coming out of His mouth (verse 15). Obviously, none of these descriptions are literal; the name written on Jesus’ thigh is probably figurative, too. The mention of the name being written on His robe and His thigh could very well mean that the words were not on His skin at all; rather, they were written on the part of His robe that covered His thigh.

· In ancient times, a king or noble would often have his title or honorific woven into his garments and engraved upon his blade, its hilt, or its scabbard. Given that the scabbard would hang from a band at the waist, the words on the scabbard would fall at roughly thigh level. This would be a reasonable explanation, given that Jesus would never violate Levitical law by taking a tattoo.

· Another possibility is that Christ is pictured as wearing a banner, or a sash, which extends from shoulder to thigh, and it is on this banner that “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” is written.

· Now this is my interpretation, this is not meant to attack anyone who has a tattoo. Remember, we are not bound to Jewish Law, as we are under a new covenant.

· However, if you are planning to get a tattoo, I would encourage you to pray about it first, and if you are going to get a tattoo, make sure you understand the ramifications that come with it. And most of all, make sure the tattoo is not an ungodly tattoo.

· Now, we have seen Jesus described as a conquering king. But now we see the coming conflict.

Vs 17 “And I saw an angel standing in the sun”

· There is another angel that now appears. We are not told who this angel is, but he holds a prominent position.

· Now when the Bible here says that the angel is standing in the sun, I believe John is illustrating that he is appearing in the light of the sun.

· Not that this angel doesn’t reside on the sun, but I believe that this is as someone standing and the sun is directly behind him.

· Obviously, this angel may be part of the angels who deal directly with creation. We know that there are angels who control winds, others who affect waters, so it could be that this angel has some direct connection to the sun.

· Now, this is only an assumption. We cannot be dogmatic in this view point.

“And he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven , come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God.”

· Now here is the angel’s message. It is an invitation. Not to people, but to the fowls of the air.

· It is estimated that there are over 50 Billion birds in the world. What a vast amount.

· These birds, are then beckoned by the angel to come and feast.

· Now the feast that they are invited too, are not the left overs from the marriage supper of the lamb. This instead is another meal.

· I don’t know if you ever seen birds gather to eat, but it can be quite ferocious. They will land and hover around the carcass of an animal.

· Think about buzzards, crows, hawks, eagles, and so many other types of birds, they are all invited to the supper of the great God.

· This invitation, is for what we see that takes place in the next verse. The feast is not bird seeds, fruit, or nectar. The meal is provided by the Lord’s enemies.

Vs 18 “That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and if then that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great”

· Now the invitation has been given to the birds to come, now here is what is on the menu. All of this flesh.

· As glorious as Jesus is, there are those who remain behind here on earth, deceived by the antichrist, who rebel against Jesus. They do not accept his kingship, nor the authority he is to have over their life.

· So, while the marriage supper is taking place in heaven, and judgments are being poured out on earth, the antichrist is actively seeking Christians to destroy them, but he is also actively recruiting for his ungodly army.

· Now the army that the antichrist comes up with is comprised of some familiar positions but also some unusual servicemen.

· First, we are told that those that will die are the kings. These kings are those world leaders of differing nations. These ungodly kings who have aligned themselves and their people with the antichrist.

· They see Jesus as a threat to their power and rule.

· The next group we see is the captains. Now I believe this to be the generals and all the upper levels of the military. They are there for this battle. They have concocted the assault plan, and they are there to make sure it is carried out.

· The next group we see is the flesh of mighty men. This is the people who have enlisted to serve in this army. They aspire for their career and for fame. They look to make history as the men who defeated God. That is their mindset.

· So, with the opening of this verse, we see what we would say is the normal groups that would make up a military. But the verse continues.

· The men who are there, some of them are on horses. Obviously, the resources to operate machinery is most likely scarce. So, man has to resort to older and more primitive warfare. Instead of having a battle field of tanks and other military vehicles, many are riding horses.

· Now, this is not to say, that military vehicles are not going to be there. But it is easier to use horses than it is to make military vehicles.

· Now, here is another interesting thing to consider, this battle is to take place in Megiddo Valley, a vast plain the stretches there in Israel. Israel doesn’t have a lot of horses in the land.

· In fact, Israel is shown to have very little horses in the land, with some estimates putting it in the few thousands.

· Now out of these horses, only a few are rideable. Making that number very low. So, where are these horses coming from?

· The answer lies to Israel’s neighbors. Russian and China both have into the millions of horses. Most likely, the answer to where all these horses come from is from these two opposing nations.

· So, on the menu horses, and those riders that sit upon them. But the scripture continues on.

· It then describes the rest of the fighters who are there. Now, remember the antichrist has no morality. He is an evil man who is literally possessed by the devil. His recruitment campaign is not relegated to certain people.

· His military recruits anybody, with most likely ungodly promises and reward. He allures those who are free.

· I believe that there will be Americans who are fighting against God, people from other free countries who come to enlist in this army. They unite just like at the tower of Babel to oppose God.

· There are those who are part of this army who are bond. These are enlistees who may have a debt to pay in society.

· For instance, some of these soldiers may be criminals, those who have been locked up, are now released under the condition that they serve and fight.

· Others may have bought into the antichrist system and have become dependent for their wellbeing and their families, so they are made to join in this campaign as well.

· All sorts of people that come and make up this army, all from different walks of life. The scripture even tells us that they are both small and great.

· I believe this is a reference that the antichrist has recruited not just men to serve but also women and children.

· Remember, the antichrist doesn’t care about life of people. He only wants worship and he will sacrifice whoever he has too to achieve that goal.

· In parts of the world, many militia groups are kidnapping kids and forcing them into these war groups. Do not put it past the antichrist to do the same.

· I mean if the devil is influencing these people in parts of the world to do this, he will continue to do such things here in these days. Don’t think that the antichrist is going to look at a little 10 year old and have pity.

· He won’t, he will put a gun in their hand and tell them to fight. The same holds true women and girls, he will use all the resources.

· Just because the Bible doesn’t give us every detail here of the army, that it means he is not using these types of tactics, he is. The Bible is going to give us what is pertinent for us to understand about this.

· So, small and great, all of these people are gathering and coming to meet their end. They think they are coming to defeat God and become gods themselves, but they are coming to meet their end.

· Now, the devil knows this is what is going to happen, but in his mind, he still thinks he will win. That he will defeat the Lord, by using these people against him. But the sinful rebellion army, led by the antichrist will be soon surprised.

· So, the invitation to the birds has been given. There is going to be a variety of foods available for them to eat. So the mass migration to Israel commences.

· The skies will be covered with the hordes of birds making the trek. They will not being going south for the winter, but going to the battle to wait for their meal to arrive.