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| Earl Gillespie |
THE SUPPER OF GOD and THE BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON
Revelation 19:17-18:
That dreadful word “Armageddon” appears only once in the Bible and is found in Revelation 16:16. If you read this passage along with the verses immediately before and after it, you will be amazed at what you will find and not find in regards to the battle of Armageddon. Take a look for yourself: Revelation 16:15-17 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. And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
There are hundreds of interpretations of Bible Prophecy and especially on the issue of antichrist and the battle of Armageddon, the operative word being “interpretations.” This is the first error as we are not allowed and do not need private interpretations of the scripture. God’s Word gives us all we need to know without any speculation whatsoever. Speculation and interpretations come when we attempt to shape the word of God. The Bible was never intended to compete with the institutes of higher learning. The Bible depicts the fall of man, a plan of salvation and the judgment of God. The following scriptures should impress the idea of the judgment of God deeply into our minds, the question is do we believe in the Word of God. If we can believe a wall of water emerging from the sea and destroying cities, how hard is it to believe in the destruction of all evil.
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.
In verses 7 and 8 we have the account of the marvelous, joyous
marriage supper of the Lamb. In verses 17 and 18 we have the account of the
great supper of God. The word “great” in verse 17 should be before “supper” and
not before “God.” It is a great supper - we know He is a great God.
Verse 17: “I saw an angel standing in the sun.” This angel could be
none other than the angel of the Lord. He is standing in the sun, denoting the
center of governmental authority. He stands where all can clearly see him, and
where he can survey the whole scene of conflict. The supper to which he invites
the birds of the air immediately follows the battle of Armageddon.
The birds are invited to come. John sees in the Spirit what will
literally take place when this great battle is fought. The great supper to
which the birds are invited will be the bodies of the kings, captains, mighty
men, horses, the riders of the horses, the bond, the free, the great and the small.
Their bodies will be lying upon the Blood-drenched ground and the birds of prey
will devour the flesh from their bones. This great multitude of human beings
were slain by one sharp sword - the sword of the Christ who sits on the great
white horse leading the teeming millions of white horses out of Heaven.
In verse 18 we read the word
“flesh” five times in connection with this great supper to which the fowls of
Heaven are invited. What a humiliating end to the strength, pomp and pride of
the armies of Antichrist and the puppets who followed his power and rule! The
vulture, the eagle and all other birds of prey will feed upon the flesh of
kings, nobles and outstanding men of renown. “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.” Here again the only question is, do we really believe the Bible?
THE TOTAL OVERTHROW OF THE BEAST, FALSE PROPHET,
KINGS AND THEIR ARMIES
Revelation 19:19-21:
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.
The day of the Lord has finally come. The Bible refers to this event
as “that day,” and also as “the great day.” God is setting the stage and
preparing for the Millennium, the glorious reign of peace on earth. Read Isaiah
65:17-19, 66:22; II Peter 2:13; Revelation 21:1.
The order of events concerning this gigantic episode is:
1. The return of the Lord in glory (Matthew 24:29,30).
2. The Beast and his hosts will be destroyed: The kings of the earth
and their armies, and the false prophet which is the “great and terrible”
(Revelation 19:11-21).
3. The judgment of the nations (Zechariah 14:1-9; Matthew 25:31-46).
4. The thousand years of peace, the Kingdom Age (Revelation 20:4-6).
5. Satanic revolt - the little season when Satan will be released
after the Millennium to try them that are upon the earth (Revelation 20:7-10).
6. The second resurrection - the resurrection of the wicked, and the
final judgment of the wicked Revelation 20:11-15).
7. The DAY OF God - the time when the earth will be purged by fire (II
Peter 3:10-13) and we will have a new Heaven, a new Earth, and the Pearly white
City.
Let me point out something very significant: The description of the battle
is mentioned very briefly, while many verses are given over to the description
of the Great Conqueror, the Lord Jesus Christ, riding upon the great white
charger. The battle is simply mentioned in verse 19, while many verses are
given to the description of the conqueror. Jesus is worthy of all honor, praise,
adoration and worship.
In verse 19 John saw the Beast, the kings of the earth and their
armies gathered together. Here John
witnessed the gigantic confederation of the kings of the earth and peoples of
the earth - the greatest confederation of people and kings ever beheld. This
host will consist of multiplied millions. The Beast is named first, and is the
center of the movement against the Lamb of God. All the material resources and
wealth of the mighty revived empire make up what the Beast heads up.
Secondly, we have the kings of the earth - the very kings who wailed,
moaned and groaned over the destruction of Babylon. The social and political
authorities of Christendom unite with the Beast in this last tremendous attempt
to overthrow God Almighty and His Christ. The battle started in Heaven when
Satan brainwashed some of the angels, attempted to overthrow God, and was
thrown out of Heaven (Ezekiel 28:1-19; Isaiah 14:12-17).
Next, we have mentioned “their armies.” This refers to the combined
armies of the Beast and all of the kings, They are all “gathered together.” No
Caesar, Napoleon, Hitler or Mussolini could bring together such a vast
combination of power. Satan is the master mind behind this last movement
against God. In Revelation 16:13-16 the veil is lifted and we witness the true character
of this last drive. Three unclean spirits like frogs, originating from Satanic
source and character, endowed with Satanic power to work miracles, “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.” The place where they will gather is named
“Armageddon” (Revelation 16:16).
The Word of God is clear in making known the forces who oppose the
Lamb. The place of the battle is also clear, and it is just as clearly stated
that the teeming millions who make up the army of Antichrist come “to make war
against Him that sat upon the horse, and against His army.” Search your history
books; see if you can find one suggestion that such a battle has ever been
fought. And yet some ministers have the audacity to teach that Revelation is
behind us!
The Satanic trinity hates the Lamb, the rider of the great white
horse, and makes war against His army of blood-washed saints who make up the
New Testament Church. There has never been a battle such as this, nor will
there ever be another battle like it! In Revelation 14:18-20 we read, “Thrust
in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her
grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and
gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the
wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood (not
wine) came out of the winepress even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a
thou sand and six hundred furlongs.”
That adds up to 200 miles of blood up to the horses’ bridles . . .
approximately six feet deep. Isaiah speaks of the time when the land shall be
soaked with blood (Isaiah 34:1-8). The prophet Zechariah says, “I will gather
all nations against Jerusalem to battle . . . then shall the Lord go forth, and
fight against those nations” (Zechariah 14:1-3), In verse 20 we read, “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.”
The term “Beast” usually refers
to the empire, but here it refers to the personal chief of the empire. The
character of the empire is molded by the Beast-ruler. The empire and its ruling
head, in interest and purpose, are one and the same. Of course, they can be
distinguished as in Daniel 7, but here and elsewhere in Revelation the
Beast-empire and its last great Imperial ruler are so vitally and closely connected
that the former perishes in the everlasting ruin of its head.
The Beast (the man, of course) is cast alive into the lake of fire and
brimstone. The false prophet that was with him is the Antichrist, the
combination of all religious apostasy. These
two work in perfect unison, counterfeiting God the Father and God the Son in
the trinity of God. The Beast will supply the strength; the false prophet will
supply the counsel to carry out the strength. The false prophet is by far the
more energetic and the more powerful of the two, because he is energized by the
devil and contains all the power of hell. “Who (the false prophet) wrought
miracles before him (the Beast),” by which he deceived the millions who will
receive the mark of the Beast and who worship his image.
He (the false prophet) deceived these millions by the miracles he
performed, such as pulling fire down from Heaven. His desire was to bring
world-wide worship to the Beast . . . his superior in temporal power although
his inferior in craft deception, Satanic influence and demon power. The diabolical
work of the false prophet will turn millions to the Beast. The false prophet
will be energized by the devil and his power will be second only to that of God.
At this time Satan will give to the false prophet the power that he
offered Jesus in Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-6: “And the devil said unto Him,
All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: FOR THAT IS DELIVERED
UNTO ME; and to whomsoever I will I give it.”
Satan offered this power to Jesus if He would fall down and worship
him. The Son of God refused and withstood every temptation the devil hurled at
Him: The devil is jealous of Jesus, and always has been; that was the cause of
his downfall in Ezekiel 28. He wanted to exalt his throne above the throne of
Almighty God. He attempted, he failed - but he has never given up and will not
give up until he is placed into the lake of fire and brimstone.
“These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with
brimstone” (verse 20). Yes, this is literal fire a lake of it. There are not
enough words in all the languages of all the world to describe the horror of
such a doom! These two - the Beast and false prophet - are not killed as are their
followers. Physical death does not come to them; they are cast into the lake of
fire and brimstone while still living in the bodies they possess during their
ungodly reign.
One thousand years later, Satan will be cast into the same lake
(Revelation 20:10). Certainly this
proves that the wicked do not burn up, for when Satan is cast into the lake of
fire, the Beast and the false prophet are still there, burning! Fire and
brimstone denote torment that is unspeakable (Isaiah 30:33). This will be a
literal lake - not of water, but of fire, regardless of what religions,
preachers, teachers, or whosoever may have to say about it.
Verse 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.” The pride of the armies of the Antichrist lies in the
dust of the earth in death . . . butchered; but not with bullets nor atomic
bombs - butchered with the sword that proceeds out of the mouth of the King of
kings.
The voice of fury of the King of kings shall strike suddenly, taking
the lives of chiefs, captains, kings, millionaires. They will die on the spot -
a horrible death - and their flesh will be devoured by the buzzards! There will
be enough for all the birds . . . “and all the fowls were filled with their
flesh.”
The destiny of those who worship the Beast and join his army is revealed
in Revelation 14:9-11 and Revelation 20:11-15. In connection with the closing
verses of this chapter, read Ezekiel 39:1-22, Matthew 24:27-28 and Joshua
10:1-11.
WOW
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