The Final Score
Revelation 19:17-21
“Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, "Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great." And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.
When I was a young kid in school (years ago), I’ll never forget how in gym class I always wanted to be chosen to be on the team that had the best players in whatever sport we were playing that day because I wanted to win so bad. I always wanted to be on the team that won! But you would never knew for sure until the game was over what the final score was that determined who won. Today, I’m thrilled to already know the final score on how this old sinful age ends as Jesus comes back the second time to defeat His enemies and prepare the earth for His thousand-year reign.
Remember John described the Jesus Christ the Conqueror and emphasized His names in Rev. 19:11-16. Now in these verses (Rev. 19:17-20:3), John tells us about His conquests. The Rider on this white horse is the true Christ and He is not coming in the air to take His people home (1 Thes. 4:13-18), but to the earth with His people, to conquer His enemies and establish His kingdom. In this passage we are told how Jesus defeats the kings of the earth and their armies, the beast (Antichrist) and his false prophet, and finally Satan (Rev. 20:1-3). When Jesus returns with the armies of heaven it will be unnecessary for the army to fight, for Christ Himself will defeat the enemy through three great victories.
The first enemy Jesus will defeat is the armies of the kings of the earth (vv. 17-19, 21). These warriors have assembled to fight "against the Lord and against His anointed" (Ps. 2:1-3), but their weapons prove futile. The battle turns out to be a slaughter—a "supper" for the scavenger birds! The first half of Revelation 19 describes the marriage supper of the Lamb; the last half describes the "supper of the great God" (see Matt. 24:28; Luke 17:37).
Did you notice how the word flesh occurs six times in this paragraph. While John's immediate reference is to the human body, eaten by the vultures, there is certainly a deeper meaning here: man always fails because he is flesh and relies on flesh. The Bible has nothing good to say about fallen human nature. Recall the Lord's words before the Flood: "My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh" (Gen. 6:3). Jesus said, “The words I speak to you are spirit and they are life, the flesh profits nothing” (John 6:63). Paul said, “For I know that in me, that is in my flesh, dwells no good thing” (Rom. 7:18). Peter said it this way, "All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, But the word of the LORD endures forever" (1 Peter 1:24-25). Yes, even today our flesh must be judged.
This is the account of the well-known "battle of Armageddon," which was anticipated earlier (Rev. 14:14-20; 16:13-16). All that our Lord has to do is speak the Word, and "the sword of His mouth" will devour His enemies.
Recently, like never before, as I read the Book of Psalms it seems like I see many of them speaking of the Lord and His final victory over His enemies. Today, I want to finish with Psalm 2:1-6 and see if you notice it too!
“Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, "Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us." He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The LORD shall hold them in derision. Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, And distress them in His deep displeasure: "Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion."
Wow!!!! Be assured today that when you have Jesus, and are on His team, you always win! (Romans 8:31-18) We know the final score!
God Bless!
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