Revelation 19:15-21

(Rev 19:15 KJV)
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.

The first point of judgment in this verse is the Lord Jesus Christ is going to smite the nations with the sharp sword. Isaiah had recorded this very prophecy in his book. (Isa 11:4 KJV) But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. The words of Christ are going to be the criteria in which an unsaved person will be judged. (John 12:48 KJV) He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. John also records this principle in his gospel that the words of the Lord Jesus are going to judge the unbelievers at the last day. Matthew 25:31-46 tells us that all the nations will be gathered before Him and it will be at that time that He shall smite the nations as He judges the unbelievers.

Then we are told that He will rule with a rod of iron. One of the things that a shepherd does is to destroy the enemies of the sheep which he is guarding. In Revelation 17 & 18 we saw the judgment of the kingdom of Satan. Christ has now come to destroy the enemies of the sheep of His pasture. The words “shall rule” in the Greek means “shall shepherd.” Not only will He rule with that rod of iron, but He will also execute the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God. The word “fierceness” in the Greek carries with it the meaning of “fury, great anger, or rage.” The second coming of Christ will be anything but joyful to the unbelieving world, it will be devastating.

(Rev 19:16 KJV)
And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

Now a name written on His vesture for all mankind to see proclaims that the Lord Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. If you notice the verse states “a name” not the name because we already read that there was a name written on His crown which only He knew the meaning of. Now the Lord Jesus does not come as a baby in a manger nor is He the lowly preacher who walks the dusty roads of Palestine. Now He comes back to the world in the most glorious manner as the right sovereign Lord of the universe.

(Rev 19:17 KJV)
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;

Here John sees another vision and this vision is one of judgment. Now that the Lord Jesus has come back to the earth, He has raised and raptured all of His Saints and also with that resurrection came the resurrection of the wicked. (John 5:28-29 KJV) Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, {29} 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. An angel standing in the sun is summoning all the fowls that fly in heaven to gather themselves to the great supper of God. First, when we see the sun it sometimes has to do with judgment. (Rev 16:8-9 KJV) And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. {9} And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory. This angel is gathering the fowls of the air which represent judgment as many birds are hunters of prey. We read a similar statement back in Matthew 24. (Mat 24:27-28 KJV) 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.  First, the coming back to the earth of the Lord Jesus and then secondly the eagles will be gathered where the carcase is. The word “carcase” in the Greek is the word “ptoma” which means “dead body.” When we read about the supper of the great God we are talking about Judgment Day which is definitely in view and occurs when the Lord Jesus returns the second time.

(Rev 19:18 KJV)
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.

The birds of prey which is really the judging hand of God is revealing that just as birds of prey eat the flesh of dead animals without regard to what the animal is or how ferocious it was when it was living, the judging hand of God is going to judge all the unbelievers without any discriminating factors. Those who held royal positions on earth and those who did not will be judged at the judgment seat of Christ on an equal basis. No one is going to receive preferential treatment because of the social position they held on earth. The description given of the great supper of God shows what a great contrast to the marriage supper of the Lamb. While on earth the unbelievers had comfort in their beast system and now will be judged and in torment. The believers were persecuted on earth and now are comforted at the marriage supper for eternity with the Lord Jesus Christ. The great supper of God shows that there is no distinction among any unbelievers and all of them will come into final judgment.

(Rev 19:19 KJV)
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.

Here is a picture of the final battle. The beast in all its arrogance along with all those who were in accord with its kingdom attempt to fight the Lord Jesus and the believers in a final battle which takes us back to Armageddon. The first coming of the Lord Jesus Christ had spelled a future doom for the kingdom of Satan but the second coming of Christ spelled the eternal end of that kingdom forever and this is why the beast is coming with all its fury to attempt to overthrow the King of Kings but it will not happen. What we see in this verse is not a slow but sure defiance of the Kingdom of God but it is a final all encompassing battle between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. Here the beast attempts a once for all victory over the Lord but fails, never to rise again.

(Rev 19:20 KJV)
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.

The first two members of the unholy triumvirate, the beast and false prophet were now cast alive into the lake of fire which means they are there forever and will never again make war against the believers, also the fact they are cast alive into the lake of fire shows that annihilation is not in view. This taking of the beast and false prophet tells us that this battle was short one. At this time, Satan is not cast into the lake of fire. The beast was the greatest deceiver because he deceived all those who were members of the kingdom of Satan plus he had built the image of deception in the different phases of life. He exchanged evolution for creation. He exchanged the existence of God for atheism. He exchanged the laws of God for the laws of man. He exchanged biblical theology for humanistic philosophy.

(Rev 19:21 KJV)
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.

After the beast and false prophet are thrown alive into the lake of fire, those who followed them are now sentenced to the same place. The fact that they are killed with the sword means they are facing the second death. In Revelation 19:15 we are told that the nations were smitten with the sharp sword which comes out of the mouth of the Lord Jesus and here those who were members of the beast system are also smitten by the same word which had smitten the nations of the world. (John 12:48 KJV) He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. The Lord had given that principle to John back in his Gospel. Then we are told that the fowls were filled with their flesh which teaches us that the judgment of these beast and false prophet followers is completed since their flesh is inside of the fowls. Of course, the fowls are symbolic for the final judgment of the unbelievers but the fact that the fowls are filled with their flesh teaches us that it is total judgment.