Revelation 19:17-21

Verse 17-18 “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; 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.”

John is now viewing things as if from earth’s vantage point, as he has spoken of seeing heaven open and Christ and his followers coming down to earth. If he were in heaven, he would not view it as he has described, so the implication is that he is viewing it from below. He sees an angel who appears to be standing in the sun. When the vials were poured out, it appeared that the sun went nova and burned out. Since the nations of the world will walk in the light created by God and New Jerusalem, it would seem that this will be the new “sun.” If indeed this is the case, it would make perfect sense that John sees this angel standing in the sun. He is not standing in our present sun, but would appear to be standing in the sky within the light provided by God’s Shekinah glory.

The angel cries out inviting all the birds of the air to gather themselves to Jerusalem where they will feed from the supper God provides for them. This supper will consist of the flesh of kings, captains, mighty men, horses and their riders, and of all men both free and under bondage, both important and unimportant. This list basically covers every type of man who lives on earth. In particular, this focuses mainly on every type of political and military person. Everyone from kings down to men in bondage (there are several types of bondage - political, convicts, bondage to the military, and even slavery still exists in some parts of the world) will be at this event. Captains and enlisted men, rich and poor men, famous and unknown persons will be there. It would seem mostly men, as this will be a military invasion, but also women will most assuredly be there. This doesn’t mean that every individual on earth will be there, but that every type of person will have its representatives there. There will be no part of society that escapes God’s final wrath. Interestingly, it lists horses as being there. It would appear that these are ridden by soldiers. In this day and age the “cavalry” units are helicopter units, not units that ride horses. Technology has replaced horses, yet clearly this states that there will be horses at this battle. One has to wonder if all that has transpired through all the judgments has left the world bereft of its technology and fuel, and as a result they have resorted back to older modes of travel (horses) as well as older style weapons (swords). It would not be a far-fetched hypothesis to think so. One feels sorry for the horses who have no choice.

This “supper” that the birds are invited to is the battle of Armegeddon. This would explain why the list of people is mainly political and military in essence. As we know from previous verses, the blood will flow high and far from this battle. The birds will indeed have their fill of carrion.

Verse 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.”

Now we see that not only are the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war on the Messiah and His army, but that the beast is leading them. This is finally the physical all-out war between Yeshua haMashiach and His followers, and Satan and his followers.

Verse 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.”

This is not much of a battle though. It is a massacre and Satan and his followers are the losers. It begins with the beast and the false prophet both being taken and thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with brimstone. It is unknown whether the beast and false prophet are humans that are inhabited by demons or fallen angels, or are nephilim, but either way, they are thrown into the fire. They no longer have any powers to fight back. This is the end for them. They do not even get the privilege of appearing at the Great White Throne Judgment later on. They are the first two inhabitants of the lake of fire. More will follow them later on at the Great White Throne Judgment. This verse clearly indicates that these are two individuals who are given eternal punishment for their sins. This negates any teachings that say that they are merely representatives of some type of system or government or anything else of that nature. These two are thrown alive into the lake of fire. They are two individual persons, not symbolic representations. Notice that it is again said that it is the false prophet that is given the status of being the miracle worker, not the beast. While the beast requires worship as being God, the false prophet is the religious leader who is doing the miracles on behalf of the “god,” just as Christ performed the miracles on behalf of the Father and to give the glory to God.

Verse 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.”

After the beast and false prophet are thrown into the lake of fire, Yeshua turns His attention to the armies. They are slain with the sword that proceeds out of His mouth. Since His Word of Truth is sharper than a two-edged sword, it is merely by speaking the pronouncement of His judgment that all of these people can be slain. He does not have to physically fight a battle, nor do the armies of heaven have to raise their swords. It is enough that He speaks His judgment and it is done. Just as He only had to speak for a miracle to occur while he sojourned on earth, it only requires His speaking something forth at this time for judgment to occur. Again it mentions that the birds will fill themselves on the flesh that is slain.