That great day of God Almighty – Part 3: Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God.
In Revelation 19:17 we read about of a command given to the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven to gather themselves together unto the supper of the great God.
Rev 19:17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God.
To best understand Rev 19:17 in its context, I will begin by first quoting the entire chapter, and then work my way through it.
Rev 19: 1 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying , Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: 2 For true and righteous are his judgments: for He hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. 3 And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up forever and ever. 4 And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. 5 And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. 6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying , Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. 7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come , and his wife hath made herself ready. 8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. 10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. 11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew , but he himself. 13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. 17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; 18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. 19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. 20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
All the events of Rev chapter 19 are occurring on Judgment Day, which is the Last Day, that great day of God Almighty. Notice that verse Rev 19:2 is written in the past tense; "for He hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand." When Judgment Day arrives, it will also be the Last Day of God's salvation plan for mankind and the destiny of all those who are the Elect of God, as well as the destiny of all the unsaved, will be irrevocably determined forever.
"The great whore" of Rev 19:2 is Babylon and represents the spiritual dwelling place for all the unsaved; just as the city of Jerusalem represents the spiritual dwelling place for all the true believers.
Galatians 4:26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
Rev 17:5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
The expression “and her smoke rose up forever and ever” of Rev 19:3 is telling us that God has completed His judgment upon the dwelling place of all of the unsaved of the world. God only recognizes 2 kingdoms and 2 dwelling places: the kingdom of God and the spiritual dwelling place for its inhabitants, which is the city of Jerusalem, and the kingdom of Satan and the spiritual dwelling place for its inhabitants, the city of Babylon, the great whore.
Rev 19:3 And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up forever and ever.
The smoke that rose up from the destruction of the great whore of Rev 19:3 can be linked to the smoke that rose up from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Genesis 19:28 And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.
Moving forward to verse 7 we read: Rev 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
There is only one day in God's entire salvaton plan for mankind when the marriage between the Lamb of God and His bride will take place; and that is on Judgment Day; that great day of God Almighty. Even though God is from everlasting to everlasting, the "Son of Man", Jesus Christ the Lamb of God, was born only once, crucified only once, risen from the dead only once, and likewise will celebrate his wedding day only once. This wedding day, this magnificent union between Christ and His bride, is an event that may be beyond the ability of our human minds to truly imagine.
In verses 11 we read: Rev 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
We can know that the rider of the white horse is the Lord Jesus, and this is confirmed by what we read in verse 16.
Rev 19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
Notice what verse 11 is declaring; "in righteousness he doth judge and make war." We know that all the events of this chapter are taking place on Judgment Day and we also know from reading Rev 19:7 that this is the Lord's wedding day. The declaration in Rev 19:11 that the Lord Jesus is riding forth on a white horse to judge and make war is declaring that on this day, judgment and war will also take place. In verse 15 we read that the Lord Jesus "will smite the nations" with a sharp sword that proceeds from His mouth.
Rev 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
We know that the sharp sword that proceeds from the Lord's mouth is the Word of God. (Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword...) The Greek word that was translated into the verb "smite" in verse 15 is Strong's G3960, and it means "to afflict" or "to cut down", and is the same word used in Matthew 26:51.
Matt 26:51 And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck [G3960] a servant of the high priest's, and smote off his ear.
Not only is Judgment Day the wedding date between Christ and His bride, it is also the day in which a great battle will occur between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. In verse 7 we are told that the marriage of the Lamb is come, and in verses 11 through 16 we can see Christ riding upon a white horse, followed by the armies that are in heaven, going forth in battle to "smite the nations" and "tread the winepress of the fiercenes of the wrath of God."
Rev 19: 12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
We can know that the armies following the Lord Jesus are the true believers because they are clothed in fine linen, white and clean. This vision of God coming with all His saints can also be found in Zechariah 14.
Zechariah 14:5 And Jehovah my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
Next, in Rev 19:17 we read; And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God.
The expression of being "gathered together" is often seen in passages dealing with the Last Day, as in the following passages.
Matt 24:30-31 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Rev 16:14-16 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And He gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
Likewise, the gathering together of the fowls in Rev 19:17 is occuring on the Last Day. The angel standing in the sun is the Lord Jesus and He is commanding all the fowls flying in the midst of heaven to "Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God." The picture here of God commanding the saints to "come" and be gathered together can be linked to the Lord's command to "come forth" in John 5:28-29.
John 5:28-29 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
Matt 13:49-50 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Our day-to-day lives will proceed normally up until the Last Day without any type of great "gathering together". True believers now are scattered throughout the entire world living very separate lives from each other; but on the Last Day, all this will change, and God will command the true believers to "Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God."
In Rev 19:18 we see that the purpose of the gathering together of the saints unto the supper of God is to eat the flesh of men and horses.
Rev 19:17-18 And he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
There are a couple of passages in the New Testament that pertain to the eating of human flesh.
Matthew 26:26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
In Matthew 24, we read about fowls that will be gathered together around a "dead body” just after the Rapture occurs.
Matt 24:27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
Matt 24:28 is a direct link to Rev 19:18 because we know that Rev 19:18 is occuring on the Last Day and we know that Matt 24:28 is also occuring on the Last Day. The following passage from Isaiah shows that true believers are also referred to as eagles.
Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
I think it would be somewhat difficult for us to fully understand the concept of the eating of human flesh as declared in Rev 19:18, but the parable of Lazarus and the rich man could shed some light on this. Because this is a story of a man that has died and been buried, he can be considered a corpse. In this parable, after the rich man has died and been buried, he "lifts up his eyes" and sees Lazarus in Abraham's bosom and a long conversation takes place between the "corpse" and God, which is represented by "Father Abraham". Because the rich man is able to "see" Lazarus in "Abraham's bosom", we could safely say that after the resurrection of the Last Day, the unsaved will be able to "see" the true believers, or "folws", "in the midst of heaven".
Luke 16: 22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23 And in hell he lifts up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 25 But Abraham said, son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
There are several lnks that can be made between the Esther chapter 9 and Revelation chapter 19. In Esther 9, we read of a decree ordered by king Ahasuerus in which the Jews were allowed to kill 75,000 of their enemies on the thirteenth and fourteenth day of Adar, which would become known as the Feast of Purim. It was during this feast when the Jews rested from their enemies and made it a day of feasting and gladness. The assembling together of all the Jews that were in Shushan the palace, which is a representation of the dwelling place of the kingdom of God, the killing of the 75,000 of the Jews' enemies, which is a representation of the destrucion of the all the unsaved that will occur on the Last Day, the resting from the Jews' enemies, which is a representation of the smoke that rises up after the judgment is made upon the great whore, the feasting and gladness that ensues the destruction of the Jews' enemies, which is a representation of the great supper of the marriage of the Lamb of God, is what links Rev 19 and Esther 9.
Esther 9: 15 For the Jews that were in Shushan gathered themselves together on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and slew three hundred men at Shushan; but on the prey they laid not their hand. 16 But the other Jews that were in the king's provinces gathered themselves together, and stood for their lives, and had rest from their enemies, and slew of their foes seventy and five thousand, but they laid not their hands on the prey, 17 On the thirteenth day of the month Adar; and on the fourteenth day of the same rested they, and made it a day of feasting and gladness. 18 But the Jews that were at Shushan assembled together on the thirteenth day thereof, and on the fourteenth thereof; and on the fifteenth day of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness. 19 Therefore the Jews of the villages, that dwelt in the unwalled towns, made the fourteenth day of the month Adar a day of gladness and feasting, and a good day, and of sending portions one to another.
This passage from the book of Esther is a dramatic picture of the battle of Armageddon and the marriage supper of the Lamb. As I had previously discussed in the second part of this study, from reading Rev 16:14-16, we can know that the battle of Armageddon will occur on the Last Day, which is that great day of God Almighty; Judgment Day. And from reading Rev Chapter 19, we also came to find out that the marriage supper of the Lamb also occurs on the Last Day. This ties in perfectly with what we see happen in the story of Esther. The Jews kill 75,000 of their enemies on the fourteenth day of Adar, which is safe to assume occurs in the form of a great battle, and then also on the same day, the fourteenth day of Adar, they rest from their enemies and celebrate their victory by making it a day of feasting and gladness.
Conclusion: The sequence of events as I have discussed them go as follows:
- The Rapture and resurrection of the dead on the Last Day
- The battle which will occur between the kindgom of God and the kingdom of Satan
- The feasting on the carcases of the unsaved
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