Revelation of John 19:18
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so that you may eat the flesh of kings and commanders and mighty men, of horses and riders, of everyone slave and free, small and great.”
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
Contrast with this "supper," Rev 19:17-18, the marriage supper of the Lamb, Rev 19:9. captains--Greek, "captains of thousands," that is, chief captains. The "kings" are "the ten" who "give their power unto the beast." free and bond--specified in Rev 13:16, as "receiving the mark of the beast." The repetition of flesh (in the Greek it is plural: masses of flesh) five times in this verse, marks the gross carnality of the followers of the beast. Again, the giving of their flesh to the fowls to eat, is a righteous retribution for their not suffering the dead bodies of Christ's witnesses to be put in graves.
Open source ↗In this chapter we have, I. A further account of the triumphant song of angels and saints for the fall of Babylon (Rev 19:1-4). II. The marriage between Christ and the church proclaimed and perfected (Rev 19:5-10). III. Another warlike expedition of the glorious head and husband of the church, with the success of it (Rev 19:10, etc.).
Open source ↗Cross-references
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Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the commanders, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and free man hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.
This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand. This day I will strike you down, cut off your head, and give the carcasses of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the creatures of the earth. Then the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.
The corpses of this people will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to scare them away.
I will deliver into the hands of their enemies who seek their lives. Their corpses will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.
“They will die from deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried, but will lie like dung on the ground. They will be finished off by sword and famine, and their corpses will become food for the birds of the air and beasts of the earth.”
And in this place I will ruin the plans of Judah and Jerusalem. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, by the hands of those who seek their lives, and I will give their carcasses as food to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.
“Come here,” he called to David, “and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”
Your corpses will be food for all the birds of the air and beasts of the earth, with no one to scare them away.
“Where, Lord?” they asked. Jesus answered, “Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.”
Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.