Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly in mid-heaven, "Come, gather for the great supper of God, 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!"
And I saw the beast and the kings of the Earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who sits upon the horse and against his army.
And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had worked 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. And the rest were slain by the sword of him who sits upon the horse, the sword that issues from his mouth, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.
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All this sounds pretty gross. All right, we're seeing a product of the dreaming-mind of the human race at work--a dream addressed to us, delivered here--but it's certainly an odd one!
First off, on a physical level, this reflects the normal outcome of any ancient battle: dead & dying people left for the scavengers.
Calling that "the great supper of God"--well, God's feast at the end of the age was supposed to be a meal for human beings, not a meal of them. (The menu was to be barbequed Leviathon & Behemoth, so there should be plenty for everyone.) So this vision reflects a less generous understanding...
What good can I say about it? Well, one mighty man with a sword can ruin your whole day. Captains & kings are worse news... One thing we've been seeing described, these last few chapters, is the destruction of all the forms of power known at the time. First the economic power of Babylon, then the power of military force. And then the power of lies, of false religion! Accomplished by one guy with a nasty tongue in his head. By the power of Truth, more to the point!
So the empire that dominates the world naturally resists, along with all its subject rulers and those who fight for them... And God captures that empire, and the false prophet who spoke for it. Jacques Ellul says that we're talking about Powers & Principalities here; no actual human beings are to be slain with the sword of him (etc) or burned with sulphur in the making of this spectacle... This is a war of ideas, most of those on the losing side being deservedly forgotten.
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