Revelation 19:17 Commentary and Bible Study

An angel with a supremely important announcement now appears. He is distinct from the rider on the white horse and he takes up his position in the sun. Why? Barnes and Walvoord suggest that the angel has an even greater glory than the sun and is therefore visible even against the background of the sun. As there is nothing in the heavens more prominent than the sun, the angel is placed there to enhance his glory with a suitable background. The words are evidently from Ezekiel 39:17-20 where Ezekiel prophesies the same future event. He too saw this cataclysmic moment and was made a herald to the world, the same role which the angel in Revelation plays. The giving of this announcement is obviously figurative, for birds are not commanded with literally words, nor do they understand them, but the summons is issued as if it had the power to command the creatures of this world, and in the case of Ezekiel, this was a command that reached far into the future, to take place long after he had passed from the earth. Of course he had no power in himself to ensure these things would happen, but God honours the words given to his prophet. It is called ‘the supper of the great God’. Of course it is a scene of judgment, a fearful prediction of the reduction of the living to mere corpses, fit only to be eaten by wild beasts. Ezekiel adds to the birds, the gathering of every beast of the field. The dead will lie upon the ground in such great numbers, and so few will be left alive that there will be no one to bury them. It is not surprising that they are consumed.If the question is asked, where will this take place, the Lord gives the answer in Matthew 24. It will be in every place that men fall in battle with the rider on the white horse. The world will not end until the outcome of this battle has had time to be seen. The wicked will lie dead in vast numbers, slain by the Lord himself. Who has fallen in this great battle? The kings of the earth, the captains and the great warriors of the earth. Nations have been defeated and leaders of the highest rank are dead. All have opposed the Lord Jesus Christ and his kingdom and all have suffered defeat at his hand. The terms of the description are universal. There are none left to stand against the Lord, for his purpose at this point has been to make a complete end of all rebellion.