9th August 2024 – Revelation 19:17-21

17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, 18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.” 19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. 20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur. 21 And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.


The final 'show-down' is not so much described as mentioned here at the end of the chapter, not only because it is not the final account of it in the book of Revelation, but also because there is not a great deal to describe. For it is not to be thought of as a long protracted battle, as decisive battles usually are in military campaigns, but rather as a swift and summary judgment upon the gathered forces of evil. What we must learn is that God is not stretched to the limit to overcome His enemies, as if it were only with difficulty that He could gain the victory. His is an easy superiority. The fact that final victory takes so long is merely an indication that He chooses His time to strike, in order that, until that hour should come, He might use to the full the whole complex pattern of evil for His own sovereign purposes, taking the wise in their own craftiness, and destroying them utterly. As someone said: 'It is always easy for God to defeat evil in any shape or form, but to do so prematurely would be to lose the strange service of its goads and frictions. To deal with evil too soon would fail to allow it fully to show itself, and thus to fail to prove how utterly evil it is and how ripe and right for destruction. But when the moment is come it is polished off as with the passing swipe of an inconsequent duster. So much for the deceitful miracles of the false prophet!'