Verse 17: “I saw one angel standing in the sun. He cried out in a great voice, and he said to every winged bird, which flies in the midst of the sky: ‘Come and be gathered together for the banquet of the great God.’”

To stand in the sun is impossible naturally. The Kingdom of God is supernatural. When David spoke to Goliath he said that the birds were going to eat Goliath’s flesh (1 Samuel 17v45-46) – to have the birds eating your flesh is an image of shame. The birds are going to eat the carcasses of those who did not know redemption.

Verse 18: “You shall eat the flesh of the kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and those whose sit upon them. The flesh of every free man and every slave. Both small and great.”

God is not a respecter of persons, nor of their status in life. The only way for anyone to escape this judgement is through faith in Messiah Yeshua.

Verse 19: “I looked and the beast, and the kings of the earth and their armies, gathered to make war with the One who rides upon the horse and with His army.”

They are eternally rebellious and cannot be brought to submissiveness.

Verse 20: “And the beast was seized and the false prophet with it, who did signs before it, which deceived those who had the mark of the beast and who worshipped its image. They were cast alive, both of them, into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur.”

They were cast alive and they remained alive for eternity.

Verse 21: “And the rest of the ones, who remained, were killed with the sword that went out from the mouth of the One riding upon the horse. And every bird was satisfied with their flesh.”

It is very significant that the sword comes from His mouth. Yeshua said He did not come to bring peace, but He came to bring a sword (Matthew 10v34). A sword divides, putting things into two groups.

The gospel is a sword. It gives life (Matthew 4v4) but it can also be the source of judgement (John 12v48). The gospel circumcises our hearts so that our carnal nature dies. We receive a new heart (way of thinking; Proverbs 23v7), a heart that becomes sensitive to the things of God.

Flesh reminds us of sin. Sin leads to death (Romans 6v23). This chapter ends with a banquet for these unclean birds.

1. In this chapter we saw the return (called the premillennial return) of Messiah, on His white horse, and with Him His armies. He defeats the beast, false prophet and all those who were part of that empire. He ushers in a new reality.