Audio Download

Rev 19:17-21 The Supper of the Great God

 [Study Aired June 8, 2025]

Rev 19:17 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;
Rev 19:18 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.
Rev 19:19 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.
Rev 19:20 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.
Rev 19:21 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.

Introduction

In our last study of verse 9 we learned of a spiritual event called “the marriage supper of the Lamb”, and we learned that those who are called to that “marriage supper” were especially “blessed.”

Rev 19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

In today’s study we will be learning about “the supper of the great God.”

What is the difference between these two suppers? Is there one supper which we attend at a certain stage in our spiritual development, and then another supper which we attend at still another stage of our walk?

The answer is that these two suppers correspond with the two separate resurrections. In other words, we all have the same experience and all things present and things to come are ours, but our fire and brimstone judgment comes well in advance of the great white throne judgment. We are judged in this life first, just as those in the second resurrection will be judged at the white throne judgment/lake of fire/second death. Judgment is ‘now on the house of God’ which makes us, in Christ Jesus, worthy of a part in the “blessed and holy… first resurrection”, what Christ called “the resurrection of life.”

Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29  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.

This “resurrection of life” takes place at the beginning of the thousand-year reign of Christ and His Christ. This “first resurrection” corresponds with those who are numbered as 144,000 and who follow the Lamb wherever He goes:

Rev 7:1  And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.
Rev 7:2  And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
Rev 7:3  Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
Rev 7:4  And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.

Be sure to read: Rev 7:4-8 Who are the 144,000, Part 1

Revelation 14 refers to this same numbered group:

Rev 14:3  And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
Rev 14:4  These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

“The resurrection of damnation [judgment]” comes over a thousand years after the resurrection of life. This second supper of this 19^th chapter corresponds to that second group of Revelation 7, the “great multitude which no man can number.” This supper of the great God is the final resurrection of judgment; the second resurrection. It is called ‘the great white throne… judgment’ which is the only other resurrection mentioned in scripture, and it comes only after the thousand years are expired:

Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus [in this age], and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Living by every word of God (Mat 4:4, Luk 4:4) means that all men will be resurrected and judged according to their works. It does not mean that those in the first resurrection must also “be hurt of the second death.” They ‘died’ first, and living by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God does not mean we must partake of the second death, which we are specifically promised will not hurt us, because it comes only after the thousand years are expired, and we were resurrected a thousand years earlier:

Rev 20:7  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8  And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them [“the nations in the four quarters of the earth”].
Rev 20:10  And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Those who are cast into this “lake of fire” do so only after appearing at the great white throne judgment bar:

Rev 20:11  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life [the book of life contains the names of those who were resurrected a thousand years earlier to “the resurrection of life”, (Joh 5:28-2)]: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Rev 20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Let’s look at what we are told about these two suppers and see if there are any parallels with these two suppers and the two separate groups of Revelation 7. Because we have already examined chapter 7, we will not quote it again, but I will call our attention to the fact that the first part of this 19^th chapter deals with the marriage supper of the Lamb, which corresponds with the first group of 144,000 in chapter 7. The first part of this 19^th chapter also corresponds with the resurrection of life and the 144,000 virgins of Revelation 14. The first part of chapter 14 is also concerned with the 144,000 and their judgment, which judgment is on the house of God now in this present time:

Rev 14:12  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
Rev 14:13  And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

Like the last part of chapter 7 the last part of this 19^th chapter, “the supper of the great God”, corresponds with a second group of mankind who comes up in “the resurrection of judgment” also called the “great white throne judgment”:

Rev 20:11  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12  And [“When the thousand years are expired”, vs 7]  I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

Revelation 7, Revelation 14, Revelation 19, and Revelation 20 – all four chapters contrast those who are judged in this life and who are raised up in the resurrection to life, also called the “blessed and holy… first resurrection” (Rev 20:6) with those come up in the second resurrection, which is called “the resurrection of judgment” because they were not judged in “this present time” (Rom 8:18).

Here is that second group signified by those who are cast into the lake of fire. That casting into the lake of fire is also called “the supper of the great God.”

Rev 19:17 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;

There are three principles involved in this verse. 1) An angel standing in the sun, 2) He cries with a loud voice to the fowls of the heavens to 3) gather themselves together unto the supper of the great God.

So let’s take each of these three principles and let the Word of God tell us what their meaning is.

1) What is “an angel standing in the sun?”

To answer this question we must know what the sun signifies:

Rev 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

We have demonstrated that ‘the Sun’ signifies our Lord Himself:

Mal 4:2  But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness  arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.

Psa 19:4  Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,
Psa 19:5  Which is as [signifies] a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.

Who is this angel, and exactly where is he standing? Here is what the scriptures reveal this angel signifies:

Rev 21:17 And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred [and] forty [and] four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

We have seen repeatedly, and in this very chapter, that the seven angels with the seven last plagues of the wrath of God signify ‘our fellowservants and those who keep the sayings of the prophecy of this book’:

Rev 19:10 And I fell at his feet to worship him [the angel]. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren  that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Rev 22:8 And I John saw these things, and heard [them]. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
Rev 22:9 Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

Clearly the ‘angel standing in the Sun, crying 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’ is the body of Christ by whom the principalities and powers in the heavens are informed of what the Lord is doing:

Eph 3:9  And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
Eph 3:11  According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

Just as the elect, signified by “one of the four beasts” in chapter 15, give the vials of the wrath of God to the Lord’s elect, signified by the seven angels which pour out the seven vials of the seven last plagues of God’s wrath upon all who have the mark of the beast, the same is true here in chapter 19. The angel standing in the sun signifies the elect who “make known…the manifold wisdom of God.” It is the elect who are calling the elect, signified by “angels which fly in the midst of heaven” to come and eat the flesh of the beast and the false prophet and their armies.

Rev 19:17 And I saw an angel [“That is… a man”] standing in the sun [standing on the Word of God]; 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;

It is none other than our Lord Himself who has “healing in His wings” and who as “the sun… tabernacles in [our] heavens.” Having “healing in His wings” qualifies our Lord as a ‘fowl of the heavens’ who as “the Sun of Righteousness” (Mal 4:2) has come forth in His elect to “eat the flesh” of the old man in the day of judgment “because as He is in this world, so are we” (1Jo 4:17). Christ has already told us that our new man will eat the carcass of our old man in this parable concerning “the coming of the Son of Man.”

Mat 24:27  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.
Mat 24:28  For wheresoever the carcase [of our old man] is, there will the eagles [the new man, “the fowls of the heavens”, (Rev 19: 17)] be gathered together.

Knowing what the ‘heavens’ signify, let’s take another look at Psalm 19 and understand who it is who is “declaring the glory of God”:

Psa 19:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The heavens [the Lord’s elect in whom He dwells, (1Co 3:15-16)] declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
Psa 19:2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
Psa 19:3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
Psa 19:4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,
Psa 19:5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.
Psa 19:6 His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat [the fiery judgment] thereof.

Mat 9:14 Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?
Mat 9:15 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.

So this angel is “a man” standing within Christ, our Lord, and in Him he is proclaiming these words to “the fowls of the heaven”:

Rev 19:18 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.

We just read that one of the fowls of the heaven has “healing in His wings.”

It is you and I who hear the invitation of the angels to come and eat the flesh of “all men” (Rev 19:18). “The flesh of all men” means ‘all men’ except those who were invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.  “The flesh of all men” signifies the second group here in the last part of this 19^th chapter. Those who are invited to the “marriage supper of the Lamb”  those of us who are being judged now in “this present time” (Rom 8:18). “The marriage supper of the Lamb”, referred to in the first half of this 19^th chapter, occurred a thousand years earlier at the beginning of the thousand-year reign of Christ and His Christ over the kingdoms of this world (Rev 11:15). We are given an invitation to “the marriage supper of the Lamb”, and it is we who are also invited to eat the flesh of all men “when the thousand years are expired (Rev 20:7), at “the supper of the great God.”

Rev 19:9  And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

This “marriage supper of the Lamb” is found in the first part of this 19^th chapter, and it concerns those who are raised to life (Joh 5:28-29).

1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

The flesh must be overcome by the new man in this present age, and must be destroyed before we can enter into the kingdom of God, which kingdom is at this time within us.

Luk 17:20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

If it is true that “the kingdom of God is within you”, and it is also true that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God”, what this means for us now is that we all must spiritually “die daily” (1Co 15:31) to our own flesh, be “crucified with [Christ]” (Gal 2:20), and “present our bodies [as] a living sacrifice unto God” (Rom 12:1) in this present time (Rom 8:18). If we are granted to die daily in this age, then we will be granted to “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” at “the supper of the great king”, which also is called “the great white throne judgment/lake of fire/second death” (Rev 20:11-15).

Rev 19:17 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;
Rev 19:18 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.

There should be no doubt about who these “fowls of the heavens signify” because at this time “the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies,” along with “the false prophet… and the devil that deceived them” have all been “cast into the lake of fire and brimstone.”

Rev 19:19 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.
Rev 19:20 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.
Rev 19:21 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 [the Lord’s elect] were filled with their flesh.

Rev 20:9  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Rev 20:10  And the devil that deceived them was [also] cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

If indeed the beast and the false prophet, and the devil that deceived them, are all in the lake of fire, then these “fowls of the heaven” who are invited to consume their flesh have to be the Lord’s elect who are promised to “judge angels” in the lake of fire at the great white throne judgment as well as “things that pertain to this [physical] life”:

1Co 6:3  Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this [present] life?

Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

We must realize that a thousand years earlier our carcasses were also devoured by “the eagles” which are also “the fowls of the heaven.” The destruction of our old man by “the brightness of [Christ’s] coming” in our lives, and “the eagles” gathered together to devour the carcass of our old man in this present time, “is the figure of” the consuming of 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” (Rev 19:18), just as “the first man Adam” is “the figure of Him that was to come” (Rom 5:14). All the days we were being devoured in our blindness by the false prophets of Babylon were but the figure of our own consuming of the flesh of the beast, the false prophet and the multitudes who followed them.

The last half of this 19^th chapter of Revelation concerning “the supper of the great God” is but an introduction to the great white throne judgment which occupies the last half of chapter 20. Chapter 20, like chapters 7, chapter 14, and this chapter 19 are one and all contrasting the resurrection of life to the resurrection of judgment at the great white throne of God. I have never noticed all those parallels before, but they are very clear once you see them.

2) So who are these “fowls of the heaven” who are those who are being called to this “supper of the great God” to eat the flesh of the beast, the false prophet and their armies “and the flesh of all men”?

“All men” at this time are in the lake of fire, along with the beast, the false prophet, and the devil that deceived them. These “fowls of the heaven” are not the negative symbol of “the fowls [which] came and devoured [the sowers seeds] up (Mat 13:3-4). These “fowls of the heaven” are invited to eat all the flesh of  the beast, the false prophet, their horses and their armies. These “fowls of the heaven” are the only ones who are not “cast into the lake of fire burning with brimstone” where the beast and the false prophet and the devil and his angels are also cast. If the devil and His angels are cast into the lake of fire with the beast and the false prophet and their armies, then there is no possible way that they are being bid to the supper of the great God to devour their own  flesh.

We must pause at this point and finish nailing down who the fowls of heaven are in our next study.