Or, The Great Supper of Flesh and the First into the Lake of Fire
Scripture: Revelation 19:17-21
Date: April 11, 2021
Speaker: Sean Higgins
Is living by faith the easiest thing to do, or the most difficult? We are saved by faith alone; salvation is God’s work that we receive. The Father chose a people to save, the Son made the sacrifice to purchase salvation, and the Spirit regenerates and then works and wills that salvation in us. The believer’s identity is just that: a believer. We are “the ones believing.”
Believing certainly seems easier than paying off our debt to God, especially since His economy of forgiveness runs on blood. The only currency, so to speak, that covers the long list of our lawbreaking is blood, and we don’t have enough. We’ve all rebelled against Him in sin, and there’s no only-human way to fix it. He doesn’t accept dollars or good deeds or pilgrimages. Faith in Christ, receiving the gospel of His righteous sacrifice, is the only way of salvation.
But this is only “easier” in the way that hanging onto the wing of an airplane at 30,000 feet is “easier” than flapping your arms to fly at the same height. Another angle on this is to say that living by faith is still quite a ride.
This ride looks ridiculous, unsafe, and unnecessary to many on the ground. They might say that clinging so desperately onto Christ makes us fools. And, look at all the other people standing around down here, safe by all appearances, and having a much easier time.
But, ironically, if they had the eyes of faith that would save them, then they would be able to see some of what they needing to be saved from. But they don’t believe, so they can’t see, and in spiritual darkness they will play around acting as if they don’t need God. Many of them will even get up the gumption to get irritated at the name of Christ. They will mock and shoot at those hanging onto Christ, and at some point in the future a group of those self-identifying as Team AllThat will gather against Christ in an attempt to dethrone Him.
Any believers living in this time of tribulation will have their faith tested, many of the faithful will be criticized and cut off and some will be killed. The power of the beast will appear to be victorious. It will look as if nothing can overcome him, even with the appearance that he overcame death, having a mortal wound that was healed (Revelation 13:12). So many will follow the Antichrist rather than put their faith in Word of God.
I understand that the word faith is not in Revelation 19:17-21, neither is the word believe. But this Revelation is for us who believe. This is the prophecy of the Second Coming of Christ, and it will be a ride for those with Him.
The Rider on the white horse and His army were seen in heaven (Revelation 19:11), now John writes that I saw an angel standing in the sun, or maybe “before” the sun. This location might emphasize his authority, he can handle the heat of sol, or his visibility, the greatest backlight of all time (even if not quite what we might think like the Bat-signal). This angel is another herald angel, announcing the second supper in the chapter, but with a completely different set of guests and menu.
With a loud voice (the angel) called to all the birds that fly directly overhead. Though the Greek word is a word for birds in general, the description of the birds as overhead birds along with the purpose for their coming suggests that these are more like vultures, birds of prey that feed on decaying flesh. In fact, flesh is the key word in this summons.
“Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.” (verses 17b-18)
In chapter 19 there are two meal invitations from the Lord. In verse 9 an angel revealed the blessed status of those invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. That banquet is a feast for the faithful. This supper in verse 17 is a feast on the unfaithful, especially on those who are about to war against the Lord’s Anointed. This is the great supper of God, an extraordinarily abundant meal.
The language is similar to Ezekiel 39.
As for you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD: Speak to the birds of every sort and to all beasts of the field: ‘Assemble and come, gather from all around to the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you, a great sacrificial feast on the mountains of Israel, and you shall eat flesh and drink blood. You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth—of rams, of lambs, and of he-goats, of bulls, all of them fat beasts of Bashan. And you shall eat fat till you are filled, and drink blood till you are drunk, at the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you. And you shall be filled at my table with horses and charioteers, with mighty men and all kinds of warriors,’ declares the Lord GOD. (Ezekiel 39:17–20)
The repeated emphasis in Ezekiel 39 is that God will make it so the Israel and the nations “know that I am the LORD” (verses 7, 22, 28)(Beale).
On the menu is flesh of all kinds of men. This is not beef or poultry, pork or fish, this is the meat of humans, plus of the horses that some of them rode to this battle. Five times the word flesh is used, and there is no good reason to think it is a symbol. The flesh-eating birds are called to eat different sorts of flesh, and the final verse in the chapter says that “all the birds were gorged with their flesh.”
The primary group seems to be the soldiers gathered to fight the Lamb (see verse 19). That makes sense for why kings and captains and mighty men and cavalry are identified, but the the flesh of all men and the following categories ( free and slave, small and great) are more than army men, more than the enlisted along with the officers. This would be all those sorts who followed the beast and took his mark (as verse 20 describes).
The sequence portrays as much insult as the reality. It’s one thing for the bodies to be unburied, a typical indignity, which would be why the birds have their free-for-all spread. But the call of the angel comes before the battle. This is calling your shot before you take it. This is scoffing at the scoffers. This is like “He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision” (Psalm 2:4). King Lune said, “Never taunt a man save when he is stronger than you: then, as you please.” But this is ridicule of those who deceive themselves about their strength.
In these short three verses there are three quick stages. The war was over almost as soon as it started.
The beast is mentioned again for the first time since chapter 17, as one to whom the kings gave over their power (17:13, 17). He is the beast that “was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction” (17:8). Remember that when the sixth bowl of judgment was poured out, the dragon (Satan) and the beast (the Antichrist) and the false prophet sent out unclean, demonic spirits “who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty” (16:13-14). The wannabe trinity is prepping against the true triune God.
The armies were gathered by spiritual forces, to make (the) war. It is not the final war, see Revelation 20:8-9 with a different cast in a different location, and most significant, one before and one after the thousand years.
This gathering occurs in the place called Armageddon (16:16). Now in Revelation 19 all the players are on stage.
And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. (Revelation 19:19)
The one who was sitting on the horse has the name, “The Word of God” (verse 13). On His robe is written, “King of kings and Lord of lords” (verse 16). You’d think that would be intimidating. But the kings of the earth rage against their obligations to worship the Lord (see Psalm 2:2-3).
There seems to be a significant piece missing, and it’s not because of a problem transmitting the text. There aren’t manuscript questions or debates. This is not like five-hundred pages of an epic poem describing a week in the life of a Greek soldier (as in The Illiad). According to John Stage One is the muster and Stage Two is the capture of the commanders. If there was much of a fight, it wasn’t worth mentioning.
And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. (Revelation 19:20)
Without any “indication of any effective resistance” (Thomas), the beast and the false prophet are instantly captured, “taken” (KJV), “seized” (NASB), overpowered and taken into custody. We know that the beast is bad, but we’re reminded that lying about the beast is also bad. The false prophet bore false witness to false glory. He lied and led others into idolatry, so he is tied to the beast in judgment.
And these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. This is the first time that “the lake of fire” is referenced in Scripture, and these are the first two in. More will be cast into the lake of fire in chapter 20, including Satan and all those who have not been redeemed by the Lamb. It is the terminal place of torment, different from Hades which is the place of the dead between death and resurrection (Thomas); Death and Hades themselves will be thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:14). Burning sulfur would be hot and foul (Mounce).
There is no need for a trial for these two. That they are thrown alive shows both consciousness and terror. According to chapter 20 they will still be there when God throws the devil in, and “they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (20:10). This is everlasting, eternal, unending punishment. This is eternal death, not in annihilation or oblvion, but eternal separation from God and anything good. “If anyone’s name was not found in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (20:15). See also Revelation 14:10-11, “no rest, day or night.”
One commentator I read said that this “does not suggest that two literal individuals are cast bodily into the fire” (Beale). But if the lake of fire is real, and it is, then so are those who enter it. This is not just where ideas go to die, schools of thought or Republicans or banking systems, it is for all rebels.
As for the human army, they are completely wiped out and become food for the birds.
And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh. (Revelation 19:21)
The sword is a reference to the Word, and while a sword describes the Word of the Rider it does not make all the rest of the description symbolic.
In Numbers 11 the Israelites in the wilderness complained about lack of meat, so much so that they looked longingly to their slavery in Egypt. The LORD told Moses to tell them that He would give them meat, “you shall not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, but a whole month, until it comes out your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected the LORD” (Numbers 11:18-20). These birds will have their fill on those who rejected the LORD.
This is not a gradual defeat. It is not a metaphor of the defeat of evil about by the spread of the gospel, which would contradict everything about this paragraph. It is a decisive and cataclysmic devastation of the Antichrist and his followers.
God will give the nations to His Son, and the ends of the earth will be His possession. Those who fight against Him He will “break with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel” (Psalm 2:8-9).
But blessed are those who take refuge in Him (Psalm 2:12). Those who trust Him with conquer with Him. Those who trust this word will see the victory of the Word.
Living by faith, squeezing as tight as our little frail fingers can to the wings of the plane, is a crazy ride, and much safer than letting go. And also, at the right time we will see that Christ has been holding on to us, and no one can snatch us out of His hand (John 10:28), or out of the Father’s hand who has given us to the Son (John 10:29). Those who believe in Him will endure and will conquer and reign with Him (2 Timothy 2:12). Hold fast to Him (Revelation 2:13; 3:11; 12:17; 19:10).
The author of Hebrews encouraged his people who were publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, or who were partners with those so treated (Hebrews 10:33). He encouraged them to remember remember their better and abiding possession (10:34). He told them their confidence had great reward (10:35). Then he put together some ideas from Habakkuk and Isaiah: “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay, but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him” (Hebrews 10:37-38). Don’t let go of the Wing.
And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9–11, ESV)