“Then I saw an angel standing on the sun, and he cried out in a loud voice, saying to all the birds flying high overhead, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of commanders, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of their riders, and the flesh of everyone, both free and slave, small and great.” Then I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and against His army. But the beast was taken prisoner, and along with him the false prophet, who had performed the signs in his presence. He deceived those who accepted the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image with these signs. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. The rest were killed with the sword that came from the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.” (Revelation 19:17-21 HCSB)
Nothing can do for us what only God can do for us.
Have you ever faced an impossible task? Something you simply had no chance of ever succeeding in doing? Sometimes things just seem impossible, and sometimes they really are impossible, at least from a human perspective. There have been a few times when my children and grandchildren have faced challenges and Dad/Papa had no way of helping them resolve the problem. Parents want to help, but we can’t always fix whatever they’re facing. Sometimes they just have to live with the results of their choices. Scripture says that the sins of fathers can extend to the children of the third and fourth generations. In other words, the roots of sin can go deep into our lives and the lives of our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren and can be very difficult to dig out and clear away. We often see this in our own culture through the devastating effects that spousal and child abuse, alcohol abuse, and drug abuse have on families impacted by these sins.
This week’s focal passage, dealing with God’s just and final judgment on sin and rebellion, is a sobering wake-up call for all of us. Please keep the context of the marriage feast of the Lamb in mind as you read this passage. If you’ve already read it, go back and read it again with that context in mind. Why would the wedding feast be important to our understanding of this passage? The LORD is coming to gather His bride for the wedding and subsequent feast with all those who have been invited, but the dragon, beast, and false prophet have united the kings of the earth and called them into battle against God’s Son. These evil opponents have arrayed themselves for battle in an attempt to prevent the marriage and to challenge the power, authority, position, and divine right of the rider on the white horse to claim His bride and declare victory over sin, death, and hell. Most of us know this as the battle of Armageddon and we’re about to see it firsthand.
As you’ll recall from last week, the King has appeared, and He is followed by His armies. One would expect this King and His armies to be wearing battle armor, but there is no such indication in the description. In fact, quite the opposite is true. The rider Himself wears a robe stained with blood, and His armies wear pure white linen. They have come prepared for a wedding and its celebration feast, not a fierce battle. The only weapon He wields is the sharp sword that comes from His mouth, reflective of the name that He bears—the Word of God. Not exactly what one would expect for an epic battle. But this isn’t just another epic battle in a long line of battles. This is THE epic battle of all battles and everything about it should be absolutely unbelievable. Don’t worry, you won’t be disappointed. It is unbelievable!
John tells us that he sees an angel standing on the sun who cries out with a loud voice to all the birds flying directly overhead: “Come, gather together for the great supper of God.” I do find that description of the angel a bit ominous. Some believe that “standing on the sun” can be understood as standing in front of it, with the sun behind him causing a silhouette. I prefer to think of it as more of a statement about the immensity of what is about to unfold. This is something that only God could enable a finite creature to do.
It would seem that the “birds flying directly overhead” are probably vultures and other birds that would naturally gather and feed on the carrion left after such a battle. Wait. The angel has already called for the birds to come, and the battle hasn’t even begun. I told you this was going to be epic. We have an angel who stands on the sun and calls for all the carrion feeders to come and gorge themselves on the flesh of those arrayed in opposition to the King and His marriage — and he does this before the battle takes place. Some scholars see this as John simply describing what he sees without any sense of sequence. In other words, he gets it out of sequential order. Personally, I think the truth is a bit more prophetic than that. I think the angel has done exactly what he was commanded to do, when he was commanded to do it, and it illustrates what we’re about to experience next.
One last comment on the birds. Notice they are invited to come gather for the great supper of God. This is NOT the wedding feast, but it is presented in stark contrast to the great wedding feast of the Lamb. This will be a bit macabre, but bear with me. You are either invited as a guest to the wedding feast of the Lamb or you will BE the main course for vultures at the great supper of God. You should also notice that God shows no partiality in who is judged and becomes a part of this macabre meal. It includes kings, commanders, mighty men, horses and their riders. It is anyone and everyone who stands in opposition to God and His beloved Son, the victorious King, whether free or slave, small or great. You’re either invited to the marriage meal or you become a meal for vultures when you stand in opposition to God and His sovereign will.
Next, John sees the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered and arrayed for battle. They are set “to wage war against the rider on the horse and against His army.” Then what has been touted as the battle to end all battles is upended with one little word — but… “but the beast was taken prisoner, and along with him the false prophet, who had performed the signs in his presence.” As I read these words, I am smiling. I have a BIG silly grin on my face. Why? Because everything the dragon, the beast, the false prophet, and all their allies can do to stand against God and His victorious Son is silenced by one little word. Go back to the description of the rider in last week’s passage: “A sharp sword came from His mouth, so that He might strike the nations with it. He will shepherd them with an iron scepter. He will also trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God, the Almighty.” (Revelation 19:15 HCSB https://bible.com/bible/72/rev.19.15.HCSB)
Consider the words of Martin Luther in his classic hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”:
And though this world, with devils filled
Should threaten to undo us
We will not fear, for God hath willed
His truth to triumph through us
The Prince of Darkness grim
We tremble not for him
His rage we can endure
For lo! His doom is sure
One little word shall fell him
There really was no battle. The beast and the false prophet were immediately taken prisoner and thrown alive into the lake of fire. The rest of those arrayed against God’s victorious King were destroyed by the “sword of His mouth.” This is the part that gets me every time. We stand in opposition to God and His will, and then when it all comes down to it, we don’t stand a chance. The very thing that mankind has rejected and denied as truth will be the very thing that judges, defeats, and destroys them — the Word of God.
Can you imagine the scene? All of the world’s kings, national leaders, generals, and commanders have gathered their armies with the best and most fearsome weapons in their arsenals in order to wage war against the very One who spoke them into existence. If it weren’t so tragically sad, it would be laughable. Man stands back, shaking his fist and threatening God with nothing but a handful of puny human weapons. But the saddest part in all of this is that those of us who know the truth still stand in opposition to it at times.
We may have been made in God’s image, but we are not Him. Therein lies the heart of our struggle. We are not Him, but we long to rule and reign over our own lives. They say the first step to fixing a problem is to admit it exists. That’s also true of sin. The first step in addressing the sin in our lives is to admit it is sin. The root idea of confession is to agree with what God says about sin. Specifically, what He says about our own sin. The reason we need to realize this and address it is because there’s no escaping His judgment. As I stated above, we are either invited to the marriage feast of the Lamb or we become a feast for the vultures by the Word of God. There is no escape from the truth of God’s Word. We’re either redeemed and transformed by it or judged by it. There is coming a day of reckoning. Count on it!
But there’s no partiality in God’s judgment. You may have missed it above, but God’s judgment does not discriminate based on our perceived importance, power, position or money. Nobody who stood in opposition to God was left out of His judgment because of their wealth, their power, their position or their lack of those things. God is impartial in His judgment and the only thing that protects us is our relationship to the King and His blood that has been shed for us.
That’s why I believe He comes wearing a robe stained with blood — His atoning blood shed upon Calvary’s cross on our behalf. It is the symbol of His infinite love for us. Remember our wedding scene context? The groom is coming for His bride, and the world’s kings and armies are arrayed in opposition to His coming. What else would you expect Him to do? He is going to remove that opposition through the power of His Word so He can keep His promise and complete His betrothal. We’re not righteous because we’re good. We’re righteous because He’s good, and just, and right and He is taking us unto Himself. We are made righteous because we are joined to Him. We are not subject to God’s judgment because the Son took our judgment and punishment for us. That’s how much He loves His bride.
What really stands out to me in this scene is the arrogance and false confidence that exudes from the beast, the false prophet, the kings, and their armies. They lead the people into an impossible mission — the hopeless cause of rebelling against and defeating God in battle. That’s the very definition of foolishness, isn’t it? John points out the people were deceived by the “signs” of the false prophet. They accepted the beast’s mark, and they worshiped his image. The very things our world rejects and denies about God and His Word are the things they accept and believe about the beast. They believe men and call God a liar. Talk about stark contrasts. That’s black and white.
We live in a world full of lies, fake signs, false miracles, and misdirected worship. An advertising image that has been deceptively touched up is nothing but a lie. Countless TV shows claim supposed proof of alien contact or ghost encounters are just lies. Don’t get me started on all of the lies that come from false religious teachers and preachers. And if political advertisements aren’t full of deception and expectations of allegiance, then what are they? When the Pharisees confronted Jesus and demanded a sign or miracle in order to believe His Messianic claims, Jesus told them they would not receive any sign except the sign of Jonah — His resurrection (see Matt. 12, Luke 11). Our world rejects the resurrection of Jesus while it embraces the promises of the latest political candidates.
When lies are confronted by the truth, they fall away and die. When our world is finally confronted by the undeniable truth of the resurrection and the victorious King, its lies will die with it. The truth of their choices and their rejection of Him who is truth and life will become their ultimate judgment. Death is to be eternally separated from Him who is the source of all life. When you reject Him who is life, you have chosen death. Ultimately, God gives us what we most want. If we want the lies and false hopes the world offers, He allows us to have what we have chosen. If we want truth, life, hope, love, and Him, He gives Himself to us for all eternity.
Don’t align yourself with the hopeless and impossible mission of standing in opposition to God’s will. When the One who is Truth appears, all the lies will die away along with those who tell them and hold onto them so tightly. The battle of Armageddon is the battle that never was because we will be unable to stand against Him when He comes in all His glory, power, and might to confront the lies and set the world right. When He comes, will you be riding with Him or standing against Him? Your choice matters, for all eternity.
No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. To those who knock it is opened. – C. S. Lewis
“You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13 HCSB)
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