Fiathful and True: Part Two

Revelation 19:17-21 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; 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; 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 of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all [men, both] free and bond, both small and great. 19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. 20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which [sword] proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

Introduction

In our last session, we were introduced to a rider on the white horse. He that sat on the white horse was called Faithful and True. We were also told that this rider had come to make war and judge. He was fit to judge and make war because He was righteous. He had many royal diadems on his head and across his thigh there was a name written: “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. The Rider on the white horse is the LORD Jesus.

Today we see the judgment that He brings.

Come and Gather for the Feast

Revelation 19:17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; 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;

“And I saw an angel standing in the sun…”

The identity of the angel is not known. It does not appear that this is the angel pouring out the fourth vial, and certainly it is not the Christ, as the angel is inviting to His supper. This is simply a “messenger” from God with a task at hand.

Note: God used many angels in the book of the Revelation. Each one is given a task to complete and that is exactly what each one has done. This angel is no different.

“…and he cried with a loud voice…”

Twenty-four times in the book of the Revelation we have this phrase, “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.”

The loud command from the angel in the sun is given to the birds. He is inviting them to the “supper of the great God.” This is obviously different than the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. The announcement take place before the battle actually begins, Therefore it is prophetic. The angel invites the fowl of the air to eat of those who die in the great war of Armageddon (Rev 16:12-16)

Revelation 16:12-16 (KJV) And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

The angel’s invitation for birds to pick corpses clean at the great supper of God reflects an OT covenant curse (Deut. 28:26) and echoes God’s prophetic word against Gog and Magog, who oppressed his people (Ezek. 39:17–20; see Rev. 20:8). [1]

Revelation 19:18 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 of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.

Henry Morris writes:

Mighty kings and mighty warriors, great men and small men, all men, will become carrion for the vultures. Thus will the haughtiness of men be brought low.

Isaiah 2:12 For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:

This scene is very similar to that described in Ezekiel 39:17-20.

Ezekiel 39:17-20 And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood. 18 Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. 19 And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. 20 Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD.

Revelation 19:19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.

“And I saw the beast…”

It is understood that the “beast” is the Antichrist.

“…and the kings of the earth and their armies…”

Gathered with the Antichrist are those kings of nations that are loyal to him. They are supporting the Antichrist by bringing their armies to attack the rider on the white horse. I am assuming that these are the same kings that rejoiced over the fall of Babylon the religion and cried over the fall of Babylon the world system. The kings have “…one mind and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.” (Rev 17:13)

“…gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.”

The Greek term “gathered together” is the Greek word “sunago” meaning to “lead together, assemble.” This is the root of the word synagogue. The same word as used in Revelation 16:16 referring to the battle that takes place in the valley of Megiddo which could be tying them together.

In the mind of the Antichrist, his kings and their armies, world domination is at stake. They go to war against the Christ and his army to secure the destiny of the world and the continued reign of the Beast.

Hindson writes:

He [Jesus] returns in triumph and wins the battle by the power of His spoken word (sword of “His mouth,” Rev. 19:210. He but speaks and the battle is over! Just as He spoke, “Hush, be still” and the storm ceased (Mk. 4:39), so the greatest conflagration in human history comes to an end – just in time. Jesus the Messiah triumphs by the divine word. He who spoke the worlds into existence, speaks and the enemy is slain. The battle is over, and Christ and His Church are at last victorious.[2]

Revelation 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

“And the beast was taken…”

The idea is that the Antichrist was not slain during the battle but “taken” meaning “alive.” The purpose is so that the Antichrist will be “cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.”

“…and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him…”

The second beast is known as the False Prophet, the Antichrist’s right hand. The false prophet worked many miracles that drew the attention of the world to the side of the Antichrist.

“…with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast and them that worshipped his image…”

Truth and Right are not known in the ranks of Satan. By his very name, he is the deceiver. The false prophet through his sorcery deceived the whole world by his miracles. It was an easy task to march the nations to bow down at the feet of the Antichrist and receive his mark.

“These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone…”

It appears that officially the Antichrist and the false prophet are captured and become the first inhabitants of the “lake of fire burning with brimstone.” We know that “death and hell” will be cast into the “lake of fire.”

Revelation 20:13-15 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

We are familiar with death, but hell is a little bit confounding. For example, the book of Acts has confused many because it refers to Christ being in “hell.”

Acts 2:31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.

The word “hell” has several meanings and it is unfortunate that they have all been lumped into one word “hell” in most English speaking bibles.

In the Old Testament, the word “sheh-ole” comes from the word hades or the world of the dead. (Genesus 37:35; 42:38; 44:29,31; Numbers 16:30,33; Deuteronomy 32:22; 1 Samuel 2:6; 2 Samuel 22:6; 1 Kings 2:6,9; Job 7:9; 11:8; 14:13; 17:13,16; 21:13; 24:19; 26:6; Psalms 6:5; 9:17; 16:10; 18:5; 30:3; 31:17; 49:14-15; 55:15; 86:13; 88:3; 89:48; 116:3; 139:8; 141:7; Proverbs 1:12; 5:5; 7:27; 9:18; 15:11,24; 23:14; 27:20; 30:16; Ecclesiastes 9:10; Song of Solomon 8:6; Isaiah 5:14; 14:9,11,15; 28:15,18; 38:10,18; 57:9; 31:15-17; 32:21,27; 13:14; 9:2; Jonah 2:2; Hab. 2:5

In the New Testament, the word “ghehennah” is a reference to the valley of Hinnom where refuse burns 24 hours a day. It carries the idea of punishment that never ends. (Mt. 5:22,29-30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15,33; Mk. 9:43,45,47; Lk. 12:5; Jas. 3:6)

“hades” is the place or state of the departed souls, the grave (Mt. 11:23; 16:18; Lk. 10:15; 16:23; Acts 2:27, 31; 1 Cor. 15:55; Rev. 1:18; 6:8; 20:13-14)

“tartaroo” is the deepest place of hades, the abyss; a place of eternal punishment (2 Pet. 2:4)

The interpretation of Acts 2:31 is cleared up by simply identifying the correct translation of the word hell to hades:

Acts 2:31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in the tomb or grave, neither his flesh did see corruption.

The list of those who oppose Jesus and are being judged by God’s judgment is getting longer: The Great Whore, the Antichrist, and the false prophet, along with the kings of the earth and their armies killed in the battle.

Note: Their leader, Satan, will be cast into the “lake of fire” a thousand years later (20:10). Along with these three, every person whose name is not written in the “Lamb’s Book of Life” will join them (20:15)

Revelation 19:21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

“And the remnant…”

Not only the armies of the Antichrist, but all those that worshiped the beast and received his mark.

“…were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse…”

There will be no incarceration. There was no “yield” on the battlefield. All of the opposing forces against the Rider (the Messiah 19:11) on the horse were slain. The armies “which were in heaven” that followed the Lord (19:14) were not needed. No blade of the army was red with the blood of the enemy. The Christ, is the only participant against the whole world and in this greatest battle of mankind, Christ is all that is needed.

“…which sword proceeded out of his mouth…”

As we saw in 19:15, this is the Word of God. All who oppose the Messiah are convicted, sentenced and judgment carried out by the Word of God.

“…and all the fowls were filled with their flesh…”

The “supper of the great God” now takes place. All the fowls of the air fill themselves with the flesh of the slaughter.

Note: it is interesting that the first half of this chapter opens with the Marriage Feast of the Lamb and it ends with the “supper of the great God.”

Conclusion

This Same Voice Cried

“Let there be light!”

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Matthew 5:16 (KJV) Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

[1] Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 2491). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles. [2]Hindson, Edward. Revelation. Unlocking the Future (2002) Chattanooga, TN. AMD Publishers. P 196