The Great Day of God the Almighty - Revelation 19:17-21
INTRODUCTION:
Last Sunday we looked at the glorious appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ at His second coming. John described for us the Lord Jesus, he told us of the armies that were following Him and told us the authority and sovereignty with which the King of kings and Lord of lords will conquer and rule. I said that the second coming of Jesus Christ is the climax and the consummation of human history. The second coming of Jesus Christ brings an end to the times of the Gentiles. The second coming of Jesus Christ brings about the establishment of His millennial kingdom.
This morning as we finish up Revelation 19 we are going to begin looking at the six-fold purpose of the second coming. In other words, within the purpose of the second coming Scripture gives us six objectives that will be fulfilled by Jesus Christ, this morning we will only look at the first which is to conquer the earth by defeating the Antichrist and those with him who are gathered to oppose the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let’s pray and then get into our passage of Scripture for this morning.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles to Revelation 19:17-21 and stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word and follow along as I read.
Revelation 19:17-21,
“Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, ‘Come, assemble for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.’ And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.” (Revelation 19:17–21, NASB95)[1]
THE GREAT SUPPER OF GOD (Revelation 19:17-19)
After describing the glorious appearing of Jesus Christ, with heaven standing open and Jesus Christ and all the armies of heaven following Him John turns his attention back to the earth to see what will happen. John records for us that he saw an angel standing in the sun. Was this angel actually standing in the sun? It is not out of the realm of possibility because anything is possible with God, but it would have been difficult to see him if he was in the sun. The Greek word translated “in” has many meanings, it is also translated “among, on, at, by, beside, near” so it is possible that from John’s point of view this angel looked like he was in the sun, but in actuality he was near it. This angel was most likely near the sun, probably in front of it and even partially eclipsing it. He is in a place where all can see him as he makes an important announcement. The fact that the sun is again visible would seem to indicate that the darkness that came upon the kingdom of the Antichrist when the fifth bowl judgment was poured out has been lifted. The darkness being lifted would also explain why the smoke of Babylon’s destruction was visible from a distance.
John tells us that this angel cried out with a loud voice and his message is directed to all the birds that fly in midheaven, his message was actually an invitation. The angel’s invitation was: “Come, assemble for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.” (Revelation 19:17b–18, NASB95)[2] The invitation to the birds flying in midheaven is to come and feed yourselves on the millions of dead that will lay across the land of Israel today. It is called the great supper of God in contrast to the marriage supper of the Lamb that was announced a few verses earlier. If the marriage supper of the Lamb takes place at the beginning of the millennial kingdom, then the great supper of God will take place before the marriage supper of the Lamb.
The flesh that the birds are invited to eat is the army of the Antichrist. This angel lists the various classes of men that will lay dead on the battlefield, it will be kings, commanders, mighty men, horses and their riders, free men and slaves, small and great. No one is exempt from God’s judgment. John Walvoord writes, “The divine judgment upon the wicked is no respecter of persons or station, and is the great equalizer of all.”[3]
The word flesh is repeated 5 times in this passage and while the angel’s immediate reference is to the human bodies that will be eaten by the carrion birds, there is certainly a deeper meaning here, man will fail in his opposition to God because he is flesh and he is relying on his flesh. These men who oppose the Lord Jesus Christ chose to walk after the flesh spiritually and now their flesh must be eaten literally.
John turns his eyes from the angel that is standing in the heavens to the earth and he sees the massive army of the Antichrist gathered in the land of Israel. John says that they were gathered to make war against Him that sat on the horse and His army. The Antichrist will be desperate to stop the Lord Jesus Christ from being seated on His throne on the earth, because it will mean the end of the Antichrist.
John describes the scene before him, he sees the beast, the kings of the earth associated with him, and their armies; all of whom are gathered to make war against Jesus Christ. The beast we know is the Antichrist, the world ruler, the kings with him are the ten kings immediately associated with him as well as others. Zechariah 14 in describing this day gives some evidence that a struggle is going on between the various segments of the world empire at the time of the second coming of Christ. They are fighting over the city of Jerusalem; but with the appearance of the Lord in glory and the procession of the armies of heaven accompanying Him, the armies of the earth forget their differences and join in battle against the King of kings and Lord of lords. A battle that quickly becomes a slaughter.
THE BEAST AND THE FALSE PROPHET (Revelation 19:20)
In verse 20 John describes for us how this battle begins. The beast, who is the Antichrist, and the false prophet, the one who had promoted the worship of the Antichrist and his image, the one who by the authority of the Antichrist performed the miraculous signs, like making fire come down out of heaven to earth, with these signs he deceived those who dwell on the earth and they worshipped the Antichrist as their god. This false prophet by the authority of the Antichrist caused all people to be given the mark of the beast on their forehead or right hand, it was a mark of loyalty to the Antichrist, and without it they could not buy or sell. These two, the Antichrist and the false prophet who were the human leaders of Satan’s kingdom on earth were seized, it seems, right at the beginning of the battle. Whether they were seized by the Lord Jesus Christ, or by His holy angels, we are not told, just that they were seized and removed so that suddenly this great army had no leaders.
John tells us that they were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. This is the first mention in Scripture of the lake of fire which burns with brimstone, it has been alluded to even in the Old Testament, but this is the first place that it is named, this is the final hell, the ultimate destination of Satan, his angels and the unredeemed of all the ages. In Revelation 14:11 the lake of fire was alluded to when an angel spoke of the doom of those that worship the beast or his image and receive his mark on their forehead or hand. The angel said these would be “… tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” (Revelation 14:10–11, NASB95)[4]
The lake of fire will be mentioned again in chapter 20. When we compare this with other Scriptures, it seems the beast, the Antichrist, and his false prophet are the first to inhabit the lake of fire. The unsaved who die prior to this time are cast into Hades, a place of torment, but not into the lake of fire, which is reserved for those who have been judged at the final judgment. It is these two only that are immediately cast alive into the lake of fire, and not those still on the earth who oppose the Lord Jesus Christ. They await the final judgment. These two, who were Satan’s masterpieces, are thrown into the lake of fire before Satan is himself thrown into this place of everlasting punishment, which is 1000 years later.
H.A. Ironside writes concerning the capture of the Antichrist and the false prophet with these words: “Two men, be it noted, are taken alive. They are the two arch-conspirators…the Beast and the false prophet, the civil and religious leaders of the last league of nations, which will be Satan-inspired in its origin, and Satan-directed until its doom. These two men are ‘cast alive in the lake burning with fire and brimstone,’ where a thousand years later they are still said to be ‘suffering the vengeance of eternal fire,’ thus incidentally proving that the lake of fire is not annihilation, and that it is not purgatorial either, for it neither annihilates nor purifies these two fallen foes of God and man after a thousand years under judgment.”[5] William Newell writes, “The fearful fact that these two men in human bodies (Mark 9:43-48) are found in the lake of fire after the thousand years (Revelation 20:10) and are to be tormented ceaselessly there forever, should sober all our thoughts. When sin becomes absolute, it will bring absolute punishment, and that eternal.”[6] Those who believe that death is the end, that man returns to dust are wrong, there is life after physical death, life unto eternal life or life unto eternal punishment. Where are you going to spend eternity? That must be decided before you die physically, because there is no opportunity after death, there is no purgatory where you go and can be purified. It is either eternal life in heaven with Jesus Christ or it is eternal punishment in the lake of fire burning with brimstone after the final judgment. You can know for sure today where you will spend eternity by agreeing with God that you are a helpless sinner unable to do anything to make yourself right before God, but you believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins on the cross, He took the punishment you deserve for your sins, that He was buried and on the third day after His death He rose triumphant over sin and death. When you believe this you will be forgiven of your sins, you will be justified before God, you will have eternal life. This is a choice you must make, your parents cannot do it for you, your spouse cannot do it for you, it must be your choice. Please do not wait until it is too late, make this decision now in the quietness of your own heart. If you would like to talk to me about this decision, please speak to me after the service. If you make this decision this morning, please let me know I would love to rejoice with you.
THE SLAUGHTER (Revelation 19:21)
With the leaders removed the forces opposed to the Lord Jesus Christ are in chaos and the battle of the great day of God the Almighty is swiftly brought to a close. John says that the forces that opposed Jesus were killed with the sword which came out of the mouth of the rider upon the white horse. We read of this sword last week, and how the rider called the Word of God can speak words of life, or words of judgment and death. The time has ended for words of mercy and grace, the time has come to judge all those who have worshipped the beast and his image and have received the mark of his name.
The evidence seems to be that the entire army of the wicked is killed. This act of judgment is carried out by the immediate power of the Lord Jesus Christ, not by the armies that accompany Him. There is no evidence whatsoever that the armies of earth opposing Jesus Christ prevail in any sense against the armies of heaven, but there is total defeat of man at the height of his satanic power when brought into conflict with the omnipotence of God. Isaiah declared of this day in chapter 11, the end of verse 4 speaking of the second coming of Jesus Christ, “… And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.” (Isaiah 11:4b, NASB95)[7]
The chapter ends telling us that all the birds invited to the great supper of God are filled with the flesh of the dead. William Newell writes this concerning this scene, “And now, as the closing scene of the present order, behold the millions upon millions of flesh-eating birds clearing away the carcasses of the rebels against God and against Christ! One vulture or two feeding on some fallen creature is a hideous sight to our eyes. What, then, will be this awful line of corpses, of two hundred miles, covered with a countless host of scavengers! Reflect anew on what sin brings! This scene will come to pass!”[8] The first objective of the six-fold purpose of the Lord Jesus Christ’s second coming was to conquer, to defeat the Antichrist and his armies, we have read of this objective this morning, the One called Faithful and True will bring it to pass.
CONCLUSION:
As I wrap up this morning, I know that we have seen in the book of Revelation a lot of judgment, and I want you to understand that the Word of God makes very clear and plain that God so loved the world that He gave His Son, and all who agree with God that they are sinners, hopeless and helpless to do anything about their sin, but they believe that by God’s mercy and grace He has done something about their sin, that God sent His Son to die in our place, to take our punishment for sin by dying for us, that He was buried in our place and three days later rose from the dead proving that sin had been paid for and death had been conquered. Those who in faith believe that Jesus Christ did this for them are immeasurably blessed in time and eternity.
At the same time, I want you to understand that the same Word of God states clearly and plainly that those who reject God’s gift of mercy and grace through His Son, Jesus Christ, must experience His judgment without mercy.
How foolish it is, and it is seen often today, to rest in the portions of Scripture that speak of the love of God and reject or ignore the portions that deal with His righteous judgment. This time right now, this age in which we live reveals the grace and mercy of God and suspended judgment. The age to come, the time of the Tribulation, while continuing to be a revelation of the grace of God, will give conclusive evidence that God brings every evil act into judgment and that those who reject God’s grace must experience His wrath.
I love to preach the mercy and grace and love of God, but I would do you a dis-service and would not be true to God’s Word if I did not also warn you of the judgment to come if you reject God’s grace and mercy offered through Jesus Christ.
[1]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[2]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[3]Walvoord, John F., The Revelation of Jesus Christ. Chicago, IL : Moody Press, 1966
[4]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[5]Ironside, H.A., Lectures on the Revelation. Neptune, NJ : Loizeaux Brothers, 1920, thirty-third printing 1978
[6]Newell, William R., The Book of Revelation. Chicago, IL : Moody Press, 1935
[7]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[8]Newell, William R., The Book of Revelation. Chicago, IL : Moody Press, 1935