¹⁷ Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, ¹⁸ to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.” ¹⁹ 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. ²⁰ 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. ²¹ 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 19:17-21 ESV

Verses 6-10 of this chapter revealed to John details concerning the marriage supper of the Lamb. And the angel told John that, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9 ESV). It will be a joyous celebration as Christ consummates His marriage to His bride, the church. But now, John is told about another supper that will take place at the return of Christ. And this will be a radically different kind of supper, where the invited guests will be birds. John is also given a vision of yet another angel who calls out with a loud voice to all the birds of the sky, saying,  “Come, gather for the great supper of God” (Revelation 19:17 ESV). This supper will feature the birds as the invited guests and sinful humanity as the main course. These birds are being called “to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great” (Revelation 19:18 ESV). Here we are given an important point of clarification that lets us know that the menu for this supper will contain the corpses of all the armed combatants who have chosen to stand against Christ and His heavenly army. Jesus referred to this scene in His Olivet Discourse.

“Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.” – Matthew 24:28 ESV

What John is seeing here is the aftermath of the Battle of Armageddon. In chapter 16, in conjunction with the pouring out of the sixth bowl judgment, John was given a rather bizarre vision of three frog-like creatures, coming out of the mouths of the Satan, the Antichrist and the false prophet. And then he was given clarification as to exactly what these creatures were and what they would do.

¹⁴ For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty. ¹⁵ (“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”) ¹⁶ And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. “ – Revelation 16:14-16 ESV

These demonic forces will cause the kings of the earth to gather their armies in order to do battle against Christ and His forces. But in this chapter, John was shown that it would be a lop-sided battle, with Jesus single-handedly winning the day.

From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. – Revelation 19:15 ESV

These armies, led by Antichrist himself, will gather “to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army” (Revelation 19:19 ESV). Rather than marvel at the supernatural arrival of Jesus Christ, as He comes out of the sky followed by a great army, these armies of the earth will try to stand against Him. Motivated by demons and led by the Antichrist, they will attempt to overthrow Christ and undermine the will of God. But John says they “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 ESV). Not only that, but the Antichrist and the false prophet are captured and thrown into the lake of fire. They are not annihilated, but simply relegated to hell, and they will be its first occupants. Hell and Hades are often confused. Hades is the abode of the dead, the place where the souls all those who die apart from Christ are kept until the final judgment. Hell, or the lake of fire, is the place God has reserved for all those who have been judged as unworthy of eternal life in His presence. The Antichrist and his false prophet are sent straight to hell. They do not suffer death, but are captured alive and are sent by God to their final place of judgment. And we will discover in the very next chapter, that Antichrist and the false prophet will be joined in the lake of fire by all those who have refused to accept Jesus Christ as the Messiah and Savior.

¹⁴ Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. ¹⁵ And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. – Revelation 20:14-15 ESV

But what happens to all those who die in the Battle of Armageddon? We get the answer to that question in chapter 20.

¹¹ Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. ¹² And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. ¹³ And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. – Revelation 20:11-13 ESV

We will talk more about this event in our next post. But suffice it to say, God has a plan and He is going to enact that plan. He will deal with Satan, Antichrist, the false prophet and all those who have refused to submit to His authority as God. He will judge each according to what he or she has done. Their punishment will be just and well-deserved.

But all that John has seen in this chapter sets up the establishment of Christ’s earthly kingdom, where He will reign in Jerusalem for 1,000 years. Justice will once again return to the earth. Righteousness will once again reign, just as it did in the days before Adam and Eve made their fateful decision to rebel against God and disobey His command. The return of Christ brings the defeat of Antichrist and his forces. His great power will be no match for the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Those who chose to follow and worship him will discover that they have picked the wrong savior. They have sided with the false Christ. Their fall will be great and Christ’s victory will be complete.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001