All the fowls were filled with their flesh

[Doug]

Isaiah 60 is a prophecy about the resurrection. It describes those saints who are raised up to immortality at the coming of Christ. This begins a time when the whole earth becomes converted! Isaiah wrote:

Isaiah 60:1-8
1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.
2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
4 Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.
5 Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.
6 The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the LORD.
7 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory.
8 Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?

People from all over the earth will then seek God. Notice in verse 8, Isaiah compares the glorified saints to a flock of doves. Now they can fly! The spirit of God that John the Baptist saw coming down upon Jesus was like a dove.

John 1:32-33
And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Spirit.

David wrote about our future "rest" as like being able to fly like a dove.

Psalm 55:6
And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.

Scholars recognize that Isaiah 60 corresponds to Revelation 21, a chapter which describes the holy city, the glorified church. For details see: Isaiah 60 hidden in Revelation 21

The prophecy of the wedding feast in Revelation 19 alludes to Isaiah 60:8. Consider who it is that are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.  

Revelation 19:7-9
7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
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.

The ones called to the marriage supper of the Lamb are those who are blessed. Who are they?

Revelation 19:17-18
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;
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.

They are the birds! All the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven are invited! And so the birds in this prophecy represent the ones who are blessed! This is clearly a metaphor, as most birds are not carnivorous. Devouring the flesh of men and horses offered up as a sacrifice, and slaying men with the sword that proceeds from the mouth of Christ, are also metaphors. Taken literally, men and horses are unclean, and so are unfit for sacrifices. But horses represent people who lack understanding! [Psalm 32:9]

Revelation 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.

If the saints who are raised up are represented by birds, how are they filled with the flesh of men? I suggest this comes about when the heavenly Jerusalem becomes their spiritual mother. The people of the earth, who yield themselves as living sacrifices to God, are the unborn children of the holy city, which is called the "mother of us all." [Galatians 4:26] That is when the saints will judge the world. [1 Corinthians 6:2] John wrote:

Revelation 21:24-25
And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.

Another indication that the church will be the spiritual mother of many nations is seen in the order of the names of the tribes in Revelation 7:4-8. The last two names mentioned are Joseph and Benjamin. The interpretation of these names provided in Genesis suggests a prophecy: "The LORD shall add more children to me, by the son of His right hand." The names of all of the 12 tribes in the order used by John forms a Psalm, that applies to the church, like this:

I will praise the LORD, (Judah)
Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction, (Reuben)
He has granted me good fortune, (Gad)
Happy am I, (Asher)
With great wrestlings have I wrestled, (Naphtali)
But God will make me forget all my toil, (Manasseh)
The LORD hath heard me, (Simeon)
He has joined Himself to me, (Levi)
He has purchased me, (Issachar)
He will dwell with me always, (Zebulun)
The LORD shall add more children to me, (Joseph)
By the son of His right hand. (Benjamin)

Doug

[Doug]

Isaiah 60	Revelation 21
Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.	Revelation 21:3 Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
Isaiah 60:2 the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.	Revelation 21:11 Having the glory of God:
Isaiah 60:3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light,	Revelation 21:24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it:
Isaiah 60:5 the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee	Revelation 21:1 there was no more sea.
Isaiah 60:5, 7 the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee ... I will glorify the house of my glory.	Revelation 21:26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
Isaiah 60:6 they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the LORD.	Revelation 21:21 the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
Isaiah 60:11 Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night;	Revelation 21:25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day:
Isaiah 60:12 the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.	Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Isaiah 60:14 they shall call thee; The city of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.	Revelation 21:10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem,
Isaiah 60:16 thou shalt know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.	Revelation 21:6 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
Isaiah 60:18 Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders;	Revelation 21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.
Isaiah 60:18 thou shalt call thy walls Salvation ...	Revelation 21:24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it:
Isaiah 60:18 and thy gates Praise.	Revelation 21:12, 21 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel ... And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl:
Isaiah 60:19 The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee:	Revelation 21:23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it:
Isaiah 60:20 Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself:	Revelation 21:25 there shall be no night there.
Isaiah 60:20 the LORD shall be thine everlasting light,	Revelation 21:23 the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
Isaiah 60:20 the days of thy mourning shall be ended.	Revelation 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain:
Isaiah 60:21 Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever	Revelation 21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.

Doug

[fullarmor2]

       That was a very interesting comparison between those scriptures.   :thumbsup:   

[sheila]

    Beautiful Doug!!

   You have defined the Revelation unto the Blessed ones.


  However, there is another prophecy to be fulfilled unto

  those that are cursed..who are told to depart into everlasting

   cutting off....that 'wicked generation that perishes in the

  wilderness ' and does not enter into the promised land.


  That 'wicked generation that demanded meat in the wilderness

and the Lord sent the birds, and while it was still between

  [Numbers 11] their teeth and before it could be consumed

the anger of the Lord  burned against the people.


   This prophecy is fulfilled against the 'old man of sin' in each

  of us, that must be put to death..and the Blessings goes unto

the vessel of honour formed in each man[Christ]


   Numbers 11; 4  The rabble with them began to crave other

food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said ,' If only

we had meat to eat,'we remeber the fish we ate in Egypt at no

cost- also the cucumbers,melons,leeks,onions and garlic. But

now, we have lost our appetitie; we never see anything but this

manna.

   The manna was like coriander seed and looked like resin. The

people went around gathering it,and then ground it in a

handmill or crushed it in a mortar. They cooked it in a pot or

made it into cakes.And it tasted like something made of olive

oil.When the  dew settled on the camp at night, the manna

also came down


  Unto that 'wicked generation'

an eye for an eye and tooth for tooth...and their own iniquity

reproved them.  The very 'meat' they craved consumes them

  [they are judged without mercy for without mercy they judged]

  [for the law was written against the Lawless]


And God bound

all men over to disobediance[sown in corruption] in order to

show mercy unto all. For the creature was subjected unto

vanity, not of it's own will, but by the WILL of HIM who

subjected it..in order to set the whole creation free into the

Glorious Liberty of the Sons of God


   Each man/woman/child has a vessel fitted for destruction

and a vessel formed for the glory of God.  The man of sin is

that vessel fitted for destruction that the Lord does away with

the Breath of HIS COMING. It is the son of perdition that goes

into everlasting cutting off in each of us. It is the scapegoat in

the wilderness that the High Preist confesses the sin onto

and sends it forth to perish in the wilderness, never to enter

Jerusalem the Holy city. The BLESSED vessel of HONOUR

enters into that Holy city[Rev 22;11]


   The SWORD of the SPIRIT always discerns the judgements of

  God. The Lord dashes to peices with an iron rod the vessel

  fitted for destruction[judgement without mercy]

and gives gifts of mercy unto the vessels

fitted for mercy[Romans 9;22-26][Judgement with mercy]

[Beloved Servant]

Amen! Doug and Sheila, Amen!
For now we can re-read the Old Testament Scriptures expecting the promises that natural Israel refused.
All filled in Christ!

Lead me to the Cross! Oh Jesus! Lead me to the Cross!

[Doug]

Many commentators say there are two suppers depicted in Revelation 19. For example, H. A. Ironside titled a chapter on Rev. 19:6-21, "The Two Suppers."
http://rarebooks.dts.edu/viewbook.aspx?bookid=1481

These authors see "the supper of the great God" of verse 17 as something quite different to "the marriage supper of the Lamb" in verse 9. The devouring of the flesh of men by birds, that is depicted in the latter part of the chapter, is seen as a gruesome judgment of the wicked.

The birds are taken to be vultures. The scriptures interpret the sword of the Spirit as the word of God, and so "the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth" can be none other than the words of Christ.

But Gregory K. Beale saw the sword as wielding literal slaughter of God's enemies, and he argued against the idea that it could lead to their conversion and redemption.   

The book of Revelation: a commentary on the Greek text
By Gregory K. Beale
http://books.google.ca/books?id=HjKUiljUwcUC

p. 968
The actual judgment occurs in two parts. First, the beast and false prophet are captured and destroyed (v 20), then their followers are executed (v 21).

p. 971
Some have viewed Rev. 19:11-21 as a depiction of Christ converting the nations throughout the course of history, with a secondary emphasis on figurative judgment. But this is incompatible with the consistent emphasis on judgment throughout the section (argued above) and the climactic nature of the judgment described as occurring at the end of world history ... For example, to say that the "killing" of the Antichrist's followers "by the sword proceeding from his [Christ's] mouth (19:21) refers to their conversion is to reverse the meaning of 19:11-19, of the punitive OT allusions therein, and especially of the Ps. 2:9 and Isa. 11:4 pictures, both in their original contexts and, above all, in their prior use in Rev. 1:16 and 2:12, 14 (cf. also Isa. 49:2).

A. C. Gaebelein viewed the "supper" as a feast for literal birds. 

REVELATION
by Arno Clement Gaebelein
http://bartimaeus.us/pub_dom/revelation_gaebelein.html

Verses 17-21. And what a sublime vision comes next! An angel is beheld by the Seer standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he summons the birds that fly in mid-heaven to gather themselves to the great supper of God to eat the flesh of the slain. The birds of prey are summoned in anticipation of the battle of Armageddon which is then imminent. And now the hour of judgment has come. An angel, standing in the sun, the place of supreme authority, gives the invitation to the birds of prey to be ready for the feast which a holy and righteous God will have for them. The day of wrath has come. The slain of the Lord shall be many (Isaiah 66:16).

Charles D. Alexander commented on the literal interpretation of the birds as vultures in his commentary. 

Revelation Spiritually Understood Part 23
Total Victory Of Christ
Revelation 19
by Charles D. Alexander
http://www.allbygrace.com/alexrev047-23.html

THE FABLE OF THE VULTURES

"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;
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 fantasies woven around this 'battle' by theorists both inside and outside the evangelical testimony, have recently been brought to the last degree of absurdity by a pamphlet emanating we believe from Canada, telling us that there has recently appeared in the valley of Megiddo in Palestine '"a new breed of vultures, a breed never seen before, multiplying at three times the normal rate," in supposed fulfillment of Ezekiel's prophecy that ravenous birds of prey will assemble to devour the carcasses of the slain in the great battle. The pamphleteer informs us that these birds are buzzards, and the buzzard (he says) usually lays only one egg at a time, whereas these apocalyptic buzzards are laying four, so there will be enough birds to take care of the vast number of corpses slain in the great battle.

On account of this phenomenal rate of increase of the buzzard or vulture population, the writer naturally forecasts that the great battle must soon take place. He should be warned. Maybe it has already begun!

How trivial are these wild guesses compared with the solemn and sober meaning of prophecy. Had the writer of this pamphlet only looked into the preceding chapter he would have found feathered fowl enough to expose the folly of his guesses. He would have read these words in chapter 18 verse 2: "Babylon the great is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird". There the unclean birds are synonymous with devils and evil spirits.

Yet another figurative use of birds denoting something very much more sinister than feathered fowl is found in our Lord's parable of the sower (Matthew 13) where we read of the 'wayside' hearers who received not the word which was preached, and so the fowls came and devoured the seed. These fowls, the Lord explains as follows, "When anyone heareth the word of the kingdom and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart". By what principle therefore does our Canadian friend conclude that the birds of Revelation 19 are vultures? He also overlooks the plain statement of the verse that not one variety of predatory birds assembles for the feast on the battlefield, but "all the fowls which fly in the midst of heaven".

In several prophecies, the birds are symbolic of spirits; the examples cited by Alexander are malevolent, but there are also benevolent ones.

Doug

[Doug]

Revelation 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;

The phrase "fly in the midst of heaven" in the above verse is also used in the description of the angel preaching the everlasting gospel to the people of the earth, in Revelation 14:6-7. The message of the angel to those who dwell on the earth is that the hour of God's judgment has come. It is time for men to worship God the creator of all, who also provides fountains of living waters.

The message of the angel standing in the sun is meant for "the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven," which I suggest represents the saints. The message is, "gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God." This is a message about unity amongst the saints. They are the ones invited to the great supper, the marriage feast of the Lamb.

Jesus spoke of a marriage feast, in the parable related in Matthew 22:1-13. Jesus teaches us in this parable that the saints need to possess the proper garments, and those who don't, will miss out. Instead of joining the first group in Revelation 7, they will probably be among the second group, who endure great tribulation.

Consider the symbolic meaning associated with the angel standing in the sun of Revelation 14:6-7. The sun is associated with Jesus in Matthew 17:2, "his face did shine as the sun;" and in Revelation 1:16, "his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength." Jesus is called the light of the world [John 8:12; 9:5]. John said he is the light "which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." [John 1:9] Paul described his vision of Jesus on the way to Damascus as "a great light." [Acts 22:6]

The spiritual light of the gospel is contrasted with darkness in many scriptures.

John 1:5
And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

Peter called prophecy "a light that shineth in a dark place," 2 Peter 1:19.

The light of truth increases for the saints, Proverbs 4:18.

The gospel is prophecy, and a light. It is represented by the sun. The sun and moon were appointed as signs at the creation, Genesis 1:15-16. The gospel is the great light Jesus brought. It was foretold by Isaiah, [Isaiah 9:2] quoted in Matthew 4:16, "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined."

The saints "shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father" when the tares are separated from the wheat and destroyed, Matthew 13:43.

Paul spoke of the gospel as a light four times in the following four verses:

2 Corinthians 4:3-6
3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.
6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Also see Ephesians 5:8 and 1 Thessalonians 5:5.

The church is the woman clothed with the sun in the prophecy of Revelation 12.

Revelation 12:1
And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:

These scriptures associate the sun with the gospel and so they show the message of the angel standing in the sun has to do with the gospel. The message is directed to those who are blessed, who are "called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb." [Revelation 19:9] They are represented by birds, not every kind of bird, but the ones which "fly in the midst of heaven" like the angel which brings the gospel to the world in Revelation 14:6-7.

Jesus said,

Luke 21:36
Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

The ones who are sealed in Revelation 7:4-8 are included among the 144,000 of the tribes of Israel. What is the seal? Paul tells us that those who are sealed "depart from iniquity," 2 Timothy 2:19.

Doug

[Doug]

Those invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb in Revelation 19 are the birds which "fly in the midst of heaven." Does this refer to the region of the clouds? In Isaiah 60:8, the birds are identified with a cloud. These birds evidently represent the saints, and the ones called to the marriage supper are blessed. Clouds may also represent the saints in scripture. Isaiah wrote:

Isaiah 60:8
Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?

In the Olivet Discourse, Jesus said the Son of man would be seen coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Matthew 24:30
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Coming in the clouds alludes to Daniel 7:13, where Daniel wrote of his vision in which "one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven."

Jesus referred to this prophecy when he was examined by the high priest.

Matthew 26:63-64
But Jesus held his peace, And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.
Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

Did the high priest see that power? Did he see Jesus "come in the clouds of heaven"? On the day of Pentecost, Jesus sent his Holy Spirit, which demonstrated his power by great miracles, through the disciples. And the "clouds" he referred to must have been the saints who spoke the words of God, that are preserved for us in the NT, as Isaiah compared the word of God to "rain."

Isaiah 55:10-11
For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

The apostles spoke the word of God in the early church, and so they were like "clouds" bringing rain, representing God's word. In contrast, false teachers were called "clouds without water." [Jude 1:12] Peter described them as "clouds that are carried with a tempest."

2 Peter 2:17
These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.

There are dark clouds, and bright ones. The prophet Zechariah spoke of bright clouds bringing showers. These showers are metaphors that refer to the words of God!   

Zechariah 10:1
Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain; so the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.

The prophet Joel also spoke of different periods in which the church receives rain, which represents the holy Spirit.

Joel 2:23
Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.

Rain implies clouds!

The two witnesses in Revelation 11 have the power to shut heaven, so it does not rain, and the power to turn waters to blood. I suggest the power to shut heaven refers to the fact that no new scripture has been given, since the time of the apostles. And many of the gifts the early church possessed seem to have ceased. Their ministry is a symbolic 1,260 days, representing the entire church age. The waters turning to blood refers to the aversion many people have towards the gospel, and the word of God, and especially prophecy. Because of misinterpretations, the life-giving message of the Bible seems to most as unpalatable as blood!

Jesus reveals himself through his church, which is the light of the world. All eyes will see it eventually.

Revelation 1:7
Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

Doug

[Doug]

The armies of Gog and Magog described in Ezekiel 38 seek to "take a spoil" away from God's people.

Ezekiel 38:10-14
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
13 Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?
14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?

The "land of unwalled villages" is not the land of Palestine today, as there is a prominent wall there, called the Israeli-West Bank Separation Barrier, or the Apartheid Wall by its detractors. This wall is over 700 km long, and where it passes through villages, it consists of concrete sections up to 8 m. high, with sniper towers, and appears much like the wall surrounding a concentration camp or prison. Eslewhere, it consists of a fence with coils of barbed wire, access roads, and trenches, and it is patrolled by Israeli soldiers equipped with modern weapons, many of whom are recent immigrants from Russia, whose emigration was supported financially by contributions from American churches and Zionist organizations.

The wall thwarts the claims of the popular American dispensationalist prophecy "experts" who interpret Ezekiel's prophecy in chapter 38 as describing an invasion of the modern Jewish state by a consortium of nations including Russia, Iran, Syria, Lybia, and Turkey.

Dispensationalist John F. Walvoord (1910-2002) of Dallas Theological Seminary interpreted the prophecy of Ezekiel as a military attack upon the modern Jewish state. Walvoord's web site boasts, "He is considered perhaps the world's foremost interpreter of biblical prophecy."  
http://www.walvoord.com/author_bio.php?author_id=1

Walvoord wrote in chapter 10 of "The Nations in Prophecy":

Ezekiel's prophecy obviously could not have been fulfilled prior to 1945, for the nation Israel was not regathered to their ancient land. Until our generation, Israel's situation did not correspond to that which is described in Ezekiel's passage. Ezekiel's prophecy of twenty-five hundred years ago seems to have anticipated the return of Israel to their ancient land as a prelude to the climax of this present age.

Another important aspect of the prophecy is found in verse eleven where it states that the people of Israel will be dwelling "securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates." It was customary in ancient times, whenever a city prospered, to build a wall around it. One can go to ancient lands and see the ruins of walls around most important cities. They would, at least, have a fortress with a wall around it to which they could retire if the houses themselves were scattered and a wall about the houses was impracticable. In other words, it was customary to build walls about cities. In our modern day, this custom has been discontinued for the obvious reason that a wall is no protection against modern warfare.

If one goes to Israel today, though one can see many fabulous cities being built and marvelous developments taking place, one will not find a single new city with a wall built around it. They are cities without walls. How did Ezekiel know that at a future time the war situation would be such that cities would be built without walls? Of course, the answer is a simple one. He was guided by the inspiration of God, and it was not a matter of his own wisdom. But in this scene he is describing a modern situation, something that could not and would not be true back in the days of old, before Christ. This detail is very important because un-walled villages point to Israel's situation today.

Events since Walvoord's death show that his interpretation of Ezekiel's prophecy was false. Interpreters of Bible prophecy who promote flawed interpretations seek to "take a spoil" by selling their books to gullible Christians. But these invading hordes of Gog and Magog take away much more than merely material things. They also deceive Christians, by depriving them of their promised inheritance, that they have by faith in Christ.

For example, many dispensationalists deny that Christians are the true Israel of God, and the holy city, and by this doctrine, they make most Bible prophecies incomprehensible. They also destroy the unity of the church, dividing the saints into thousands of cults, and sects, and denominations. They move the temple of God from its foundation, which is the apostles and prophets. [Ephesians 2:20]

Some even deny our Christian calling as the bride of the Lamb, and say the wedding described in Revelation 19 is not for us.

Some deny that the New Covenant is for the saints of this age, but say it was for Jewish believers!

An example of this is Adlai Loudy's God's Eonian Purpose, Chapter 7. Rightly Dividing the Word. Loudy wrote:

Our allotment is in heaven "among the celestials, in Christ Jesus" (Eph.2:6) and comes through "the evangel of which Paul became the dispenser" (Eph.3:7), and has no relation, whatever, to Israel and their promise covenants for the earth and the earthly kingdom.

The "new covenant" is prophetically promised to Israel in Jeremiah 31:31-34, and is reaffirmed in Hebrews 8:6-12. It is not in effect today, and will not become effective until the "church which is the body of Christ" with a heavenly destiny, is completed and called to be with the Lord, and Israel has gone through "the great tribulation" spoken of by the Hebrew prophets as "the time of Jacob's trouble," and Christ, their Rescuer, has arrived out of Zion and brought them deliverance.
http://www.gtft.org/Library/loudy/GodsEonianPurpose/GodsEonianPurpose07.htm

Loudy's doctrine divides the "spoil" or the inheritance of the saints, on the basis of race. It is errors such as this, that Christ will fight against with the sword of his mouth!

In chapter 20, The New Heavens and Earth, Loudy wrote:

Dire loss has been suffered by believers through the widespread error of preachers and teachers going to this portion of God's Word to comfort the bereaved concerning the destiny of all the redeemed. Not one word is said here concerning the new heavens and the allotment of transcendent glory for the ecclesia which is the body of Christ, among the celestials. And let me emphasize the fact again, that the holy city, new Jerusalem, is not heaven itself, for we are explicitly told that it comes down from God out of heaven. Furthermore, if we will heed what is written, and not persist in reading into the Scriptures human traditions, the city is exclusively for the sons of Israel.

According to Loudy and other ultradispensationalists, the saints of Jewish ancestry have an earthly kingdom, while the ecclesia is up in heaven, "among the celestials." He wrote:
   
In the celestial phase of the kingdom, the ecclesia which is the body of Christ will make known to "the sovereignties and the authorities among the celestials, the multifarious wisdom of God, in accord with the purpose of the eons which He makes in Christ Jesus, our Lord" (Eph. 3:10, 11), while Israel, then "the wife of the Lambkin," in the terrestrial kingdom on the new earth, will be schooling the nations in all the ways and wisdom of God.
http://www.gtft.org/Library/loudy/GodsEonianPurpose/GodsEonianPurpose20.htm

Loudy's doctrine above is fuel, that the saints burn up for seven years in Ezekiel's prophecy.

Zechariah also described the invading armies, under the label "all nations."

Zechariah 14:1-3
1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.

Zechariah depicts the nations of the world coming against Jerusalem, which John identified as the church, the "camp of the saints" and the "beloved city" in Revelation 20:8-9. John combined the prophecies of Zechariah 14 and Ezekiel 38-39, and applied them to the church. He interpreted those prophecies for our benefit. As Paul said, the enemies of the saints are not flesh and blood, but spiritual. [Ephesians 6:12]

Ezekiel said the armies of Gog and Magog will come up against the prophets of Israel. [Ezekiel 38:17] John said in Revelation 20:9 they "compass the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city." Obviously, this beloved city refers to the Church, the bride of the Lamb, not the Jewish nation in Palestine. Paul in Ephesians 2:20 says the Church is built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. The armies of Gog and Magog who come against prophets of Israel pictures a spiritual invasion, because the invaders misinterpret the words of the prophets and apostles.  

The dominance of the forces of Gog and Magog over the church contributes to, and explains, the church's spiritual decline, and downtrodden, desolate condition. The judgments described in Ezekiel 38 and 39 depict the judgments of God upon the representatives of antichrist.

In Zechariah's prophecy, "all nations" implies the invaders are spiritually Gentiles. Paul identified the saints with the circumcision, the people of the covenant, when he wrote, "For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." [Philippians 3:3] It follows that those who are not genuine Christians are spiritually Gentiles. They are said to "tread under foot" the holy city, which represents the believers. [Luke 21:24, Revelation 11:2]

"The city shall be taken" indicates the church is dominated by them. "The houses rifled" shows the invaders take away the things that are precious to a Christian, such as our promised rewards. "The women ravished" suggests people are seduced by false teachings. [2 Corinthians 11:3] "Half of the city shall go forth into captivity" suggests many are taken captive by systems of interpretation, creeds, membership in sects and denominations, etc.

The apostle Peter said that prophets (which includes Ezekiel and Zechariah) ministered not to themselves, or to the Jews, but "unto us," meaning the saints. He said they wrote about the gospel, ("they prophesied of the grace that should come unto you") and they wrote "by the spirit of Christ that was in them." According to the insight given to the apostle Peter, Ezekiel and Zechariah wrote for the benefit of believers, about the church, and about the present age, not the Jews who lived in 70 AD, or Jews in a future 7 year tribulation. [1 Peter 1:9-12]

Doug

[Livelystone]

Job 39:27       Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high?


Job 39:28       She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place.


Job 39:29       From thence she seeketh the prey, [and] her eyes behold afar off.


Job 39:30       Her young ones also suck up blood: and where the slain [are], there [is] she.

Brother Doug

Those who drink blood and tear the flesh are unclean and are an abomination to God. God is not the author of confusion and I cannot see how such a contradiction of His law would ever be acceptable in heaven.

I do see the "fowls of heaven" to be flesh eating spirits but anything that feeds its young torn flesh from one mouth to another such as those who are carried off to the wilderness to be nourished (fed) from the face of the serpent are not IMO Christians who are doing very well.

Sorry but that is what the Bible says and is how I read it

Blessings

Doug

[Doug]

Job 39:27       Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high?


Job 39:28       She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place.


Job 39:29       From thence she seeketh the prey, [and] her eyes behold afar off.


Job 39:30       Her young ones also suck up blood: and where the slain [are], there [is] she.

Brother Doug

Those who drink blood and tear the flesh are unclean and are an abomination to God. God is not the author of confusion and I cannot see how such a contradiction of His law would ever be acceptable in heaven.

I do see the "fowls of heaven" to be flesh eating spirits but anything that feeds its young torn flesh from one mouth to another such as those who are carried off to the wilderness to be nourished (fed) from the face of the serpent are not IMO Christians who are doing very well.

Sorry but that is what the Bible says and is how I read it

Blessings

Doug

Christ is represented in many ways in scripture, including a lion, a serpent, a lamb, and an eagle. He is represented by a lion that tears its prey in pieces in the prophecy of Hosea.

Hosea 5:14-15
14 For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him.
15 I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.

In Revelation also, Jesus is called the "Lion of the tribe of Judah."

Revelation 5:5
And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

Jesus is represented by the serpent of brass which Moses made, and lifted up in the wilderness, so that when those who had been bitten by serpents looked upon it, they were healed from the sting of the serpents. [Numbers 21:6-9] Jesus identified the serpent as a symbol of himself.

John 3:14
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

John 12:32
And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

Jesus told his disciples to be "wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." [Matthew 10:16]

Christ is represented as an eagle in Exodus 19:4. He bore the Israelites "on eagle's wings" when they come out of Egypt.

Exodus 19:4
Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.

Eagles are mentioned several times in scripture, as symbols of strength, and vitality.  

Isaiah 40:31
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

In Revelation 12 the two wings of a great eagle enable the woman, who represents the church, to escape the flood that comes from the mouth of the serpent.

Who is the eagle? It seems it is Christ himself, and the wings given to the woman are symbolic of the spirit of prophecy, which provides us with the divine viewpoint on things.

Revelation 12:14
And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

Eagles in the region of Palestine prey upon serpents, which are an important part of their diet, as illustrated by these photos.

I suggest the eagles' wings were symbolic of the divine understanding given to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon in the time of Daniel. His kingdom was represented by a lion with eagle's wings. [Daniel 7:4]

The wings of an eagle are in stark contrast to the four wings of a fowl, that characterize the hellenistic kingdoms, represented by a leopard with four heads. [Daniel 7:6] The Greek kingdoms of the diadoci were characterized by much religious confusion.

The kingdom of God was described by Jesus, as like a tree, that grew from a tiny seed. Eventually, the fowls of the air dwelt in its branches.

Luke 13: 18
Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it?
It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it.

Could these be the same fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, who are invited to the marriage feast of the Lamb? If so, they are symbolic of the saints! These are the ones who are called blessed in Revelation 19:9.

Doug

[rosered]

Act 10:13 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. 14But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.

15And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.

16This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven.

17Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made enquiry for Simon's house, and stood before the gate,

18And called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there.



  after reading  Acts 10 and 11
    God  said nothing was  called comon or unclean . believe this applys here  when   eating the flesh means  destroying the carnal mindset ..
same as ....
  Great job Doug on your posts lately

[Livelystone]

Act 10:13 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. 14But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.

15And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.

16This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven.

17Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made enquiry for Simon's house, and stood before the gate,

18And called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there.



  after reading  Acts 10 and 11
    God  said nothing was  called comon or unclean . believe this applys here  when   eating the flesh means  destroying the carnal mindset ..
same as ....
  Great job Doug on your posts lately

Hmmmm

When you eat something spiritual you partake of it and it becomes what we believe .......... When Peter got the vision of what he had always thought was unclean but then found out that he had been wrong the entire time and that those foods had ALWAYS been clean is when PETER RECEIVED THE KNOWLEDGE AND REVELATION THAT THE LAW IS SPIRITUAL AND ALL THOSE DIETARY LAWS ARE IN REFERENCE TO SPIRITUAL FOOD AND NOT PHYSICAL FOOD!!!

THOSE WHO ARE INVITED TO THE WEDDING FEAST ARE GIVEN THE HIDDEN MANNA FROM HEAVEN THAT CONTAINS NEITHER LEAVEN NOR FLESH.

Wings are spirits traveling the airways........ When the serpent that is Satan and father of all lies was given wings he became a dragon and the prince and power of the air

Our prayers mount up as eagle wings because that is how they rise as an eagle flies but we need not confuse the letter of the law that says an "eye for an eye" with the spirit of the law when Jesus said "to drink His Blood and eat His Flesh"........ a lot to do with the difference between milk and meat. :sigh:

Blessings

Doug

[Doug]

Act 10:13 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. 14But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.

15And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.

16This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven.

17Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made enquiry for Simon's house, and stood before the gate,

18And called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there.



  after reading  Acts 10 and 11
    God  said nothing was  called comon or unclean . believe this applys here  when   eating the flesh means  destroying the carnal mindset ..
same as ....
  Great job Doug on your posts lately

Wonderful post, Rosered!  :thumbsup:

The apostle Peter, and all the saints of the early church, are included among the "birds that fly in the mist of heaven," those who are blessed, and who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb, in the prophecy of Revelation 19.

Peter saw in his vision a great sheet, that must have been something like an enormous tablecloth. On it, were all the various kinds of creatures, that Peter was invited to kill and to eat, consisting of both clean and unclean types, according to the law of Moses.

Acts 10:9-16
9 On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour:
10 And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance,
11 And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending upon him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:
12 Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
13 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.
14 But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.
15 And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.
16 This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven.

The events that followed reveal what the symbols in Peter's vision mean. The unclean creatures represented Gentile believers, who would soon be included in the church.

Obviously, the Jewish saints in those days did not literally kill and eat up Cornelius and his family, but those Gentiles who were given the Holy Spirit became unborn children within the heavenly mother, the Jerusalem which is above, along with the apostles, and all the other saints, who at that time, must have all been Jews. Those Gentiles were included as brethren, when they received the Holy Spirit.

The church is spiritual mother of all humanity, just as Eve was the mother of all humanity in the earthly sense, according to Genesis.

In some ways, the prophecy in Revelation 19 seems to complement the vision that Peter saw. Peter may have seen a vision of the marriage supper. Jesus also told a parable about guests invited to a marriage in Matthew 22:1-14.

In Revelation 19, the saints, represented by the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, are invited to a great feast, not of unclean animals, as in Peter's vision, but of men. And just as Peter's vision did not require him to literally eat the unclean foods, the saints represented by birds that fly in the midst of heaven do not have to literally eat the people of the nations of the world in the wedding supper of the Lamb. All those people become included in the church, just like Cornelius and his family were included in the church, when they believed the gospel. From the vision of Peter, it is clear that the spiritual meaning of "eat" must be simply "accept" into the fellowship of the church. A similar meaning applies in Revelation 19.

Doug

[rosered]

   Excellent Guys  ! 

  Both Dougs , Thanks,
  said it much better than I  could have ...

[Doug]

The table below lists some parallels between Peter's vision recorded in Acts 10, and the prophecy of the wedding supper of the Lamb in Revelation 19.

Acts 10		Revelation 19
Peter saw heaven opened, Acts 10:11		John saw heaven opened, Rev. 19:11
Peter was invited to eat animals, and fowls of the air, Acts 10:13		Fowls are invited to eat men, and horses, Rev. 19:17
Animals, fowls of the air, and creeping things represent the nations		Men and horses represent the nations
Peter represents the church		Fowls represent the church, Rev. 19:9
Creatures Peter was invited to kill and eat represent those who would believe the gospel, and be baptized, Acts 10:12, 48		Men slain by the sword proceeding from the mouth of Christ represent those who believe the gospel, Rev. 19:21
Cornelius, a Roman centurion, sent for Peter, Acts 10:8		Kings, captains, and mighty men to be included in the supper, Rev. 19:18
Cornelius and his house believe, when they hear the gospel preached by Peter, Acts 10:34-43		The men of the world are slain "by the sword of him that sat upon the horse," which is the word of God, Rev. 19:21
The gospel is to go to every nation, Acts 10:35		The fowls invited to the supper are filled with the flesh of all men, Rev. 19:18, 21

Doug

[Doug]

In Revelation 19, John describes Christ as leading the armies of heaven, riding upon a white horse. He alludes to Zechariah 10:3, which also describes Christ riding upon a horse. Zechariah wrote:

Zechariah 10:3
Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats: for the LORD of hosts hath visited his flock the house of Judah, and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle.

John adds the detail that his horse is a white one, as John reinterprets the house of Judah as referring to the church, by the wisdom of the Holy Spirit that was given to him. Probably, John perceived that the horse depicted in Zechariah's prophecy does not represent the Jews after the flesh, but the saints, those who are the bride of the Lamb, who is clothed in "fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints." [Revelation 19:8]

John identified the rider as Jesus, who is also the bridegroom.

Revelation 19:11
And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

The horse in Zechariah's prophecy, as interpreted by John, represents the saints, under the figure of the house of Judah. It does not refer to unbelieving Jews.

John changes the scene somewhat by moving it into heaven, and by giving all the saints their own white horses to ride, each having white garments like the bride of the Lamb, in whose marriage they all participate.

In Zechariah, the Lord's "flock" is identified with the house of Judah. Jesus called himself the good shepherd, who gave his life for his sheep.

John 10:11
I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

The prophecy of the woman in heaven in Revelation 12 also describes spiritual warfare.

Revelation 12:7-11
7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

In the spiritual warfare described here, the struggle is between angels. The armies of Michael war against those of the dragon. But the struggle also involves the saints. It is the saints who overcome the "accuser of our brethren by the blood of the Lamb." The prophecy in chapter 12:7-11 complements the one in chapter 19.

The invitation to the marriage supper in Revelation 19 is directed to the birds that fly in the midst of heaven.

Revelation 19:17-18
Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; 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 armies who fight against Christ and his army are slain by the sword that proceeds from his mouth, which refers to spiritual conquest. The false prophet and the beast are thrown into a lake of fire.

The birds are filled with the flesh of the men that remained; I understand this to represent not the vengeance of God suggested by the grotesque scene of birds feasting on corpses, but the saints, represented by all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, becoming the spiritual mother of many, as the people of the entire world repent and seek God, and come into the church.

Doug

[Doug]

The ones who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb in Revelation 19 are said to be blessed, [Revelation 19:9] and in the same chapter, they are identified with the birds that fly in the midst of heaven. [Revelation 19:17]

These birds are very likely the ones Jesus referred to when he told the parable about the kingdom, and compared it to a great tree.

Matthew 13:31-32
Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:
Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.

The alternate interpretation, that takes the birds of Revelation 19:17 as literal, and the killing of the armies of the beast and false prophet in verse 21 as referring to their literal death, and the winepress that Christ treads as one that causes literal blood to flow, has given rise to some very gruesome accounts of the future of the world. These do not depict Christ as the prince of peace or the savior of mankind at all.  

One example of a literal, dispensationalist approach, that demonstrates this, was presented by Henry M. Morris, quoted below, for comparison.

The Revelation record: a scientific and devotional commentary on the book of Revelation, by Henry Madison Morris.
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1983.
http://books.google.ca/books?id=inbeiIub460C
p. 401-403

Revelation 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.

When their great leaders, the supposedly invincible king and his miracle-working seer (the Scriptures call them the beast and the false prophet), were suddenly seized and carried away from their command post, the armies which had followed them were left in utter dismay and confusion. This is the scene particularly foretold in Luke 21:26, 27. "Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory."

Knowing now that all hope was completely gone, the frightened multitudes will await their own fate. They will not have to wait long. A mighty cutting wind sweeps across their ranks, up the 180-mile column of massed men and horses, proceeding like a slicing sword directly from the powerful Word of the majestic Rider as He rides up from Edom. Like grapes trampled in a winepress, the blood bursts  from their veins and death is instantaneous. Soon the great trough is flowing with blood and His vesture dips therein while He treads the winepress alone. The spirits of the slain multitudes depart into Hades, there to await the judgment of the great white throne.

This is the great climactic battle of the ages, long foreseen by the prophets. "The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath, He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries" (Psalm 110:5, 6). "The wicked shall be turned into hell [i.e., sheol], and all the nations that forget God" (Psa. 9:17). The language of Isaiah's prophecy is awesome: "Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.... The sword of the land is filled with blood... for the Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea" (Isaiah 34:3-6).

The prophet Jeremiah gives a similar message: "I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the Lord of hosts ... The Lord shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation: he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. ... Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. And the slain of the lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth ["earth" in this passage could legitimately, and probably better, be translated "land," as, for example, in Jeremiah 25:20-- "the land of the Philistines"]: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground" (Jeremiah 25:29-33).

Through Zephaniah the Lord had pronounced: "I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land" (Zephaniah 1:17, 18). See also Zephaniah 3:8.

It is apparently at this time, as the conquering Christ comes up from Edom to Jerusalem, smiting all the assembled armies as He comes, that the Jews who have returned to Jerusalem finally will receive Him as their Messiah and Savior. The prophet Zechariah tells us about it: "And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall he cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. In that  day, saith the Lord, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness .... And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn .... In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness ... They shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God" (Zechariah 12:3, 4, 9, 10; 13:1, 9).

It is probably at this time that He will stand triumphantly on Mount Zion, with the 144,000 chosen Israelites, who will have returned to Jerusalem with their Jewish converts from their sojourn in the wilderness (Revelation 12:6; 14:1). He will also "stand in that day upon the mount of Olives" (Zechariah 14:4), from which He had ascended long ago (Acts 1:9-12), thereby triggering the great earthquake which will open the healing springs and rivers (Zechariah 14:4, 8).

Whether or not He then will continue on up to Armageddon, to complete the trampling of the winepress, as it were, we are not informed, but the awful slaughter is indeed quickly accomplished. Millions upon millions of dead bodies lie fallen upon the ground, awash in their own blood. "For by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many" (Isaiah 66:16).

Then will the great cloud of ravenous birds swoop down from the heavens, gorging themselves on the flesh and blood of the once high-and-mighty rebels against a long-suffering God. Gradually the earth will be cleansed of its pollution, leaving the bones soon to disintegrate and scatter with the winds.

The terrible scene of carnage and death depicted in these verses may at first offend the sensibilities of those who think of God only as a loving and patronizing grandfather. He is indeed a God of great mercy and forgiveness, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. His love for a lost world is so great that as the sacrificial lamb of God He suffered and died on the cross to save men from their sins.

But when they adamantly refuse His salvation, denying His Word and blaspheming His name, there must one day come a time of reckoning. "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven" (Ecclesiastes 3:1). The time is surely coming when God's great purpose for His creation must be brought to its consummation and this requires that it be purged from sin.

Doug

[Livelystone]

Dear Brother Doug

Considering the fact that the dragons in the wilderness are the Pharaohs who keep us in bondage to flesh and the tail of the dragon are the prophets that teach lies (present day church clergy) and that while those who have been caught up to heaven (entered the promise land) while those who do not and remain wandering in the wilderness are being nourished from face of the serpent  to face in manner of how birds feed their young (by the tail of the dragon that the mouths of false prophets and pastors)......... what in the world is causing you to maintain the direction you are on with your doctrine here???????

Eze 29:3       Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I [am] against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river [is] mine own, and I have made [it] for myself.

Eze 29:4       But I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales, and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales.


Eze 29:5       And I will leave thee [thrown] into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers: thou shalt fall upon the open fields; thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered: I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven.


Christians partake of good clean lawful food and are not hardly the beasts of the field or fowls of the air who tresspass the law and are those that have souls and spirits that return to the earth when they die, (see Eccl 3:21)

Dear Brother in Christ........ Christians are pictured as fish in the Bible and you see them here being destroyed by those who make up the dragon that is no more than a flying serpent just like eagles kill fish in real life...... same as Leviathan who swims amongst the waters that make up the voices of the saints........ Fowls of the heavens are unclean and they will be used to bring the end to the church that will be destroyed and then they too will be destroyed by God just as He has promised to do.

However with the remnant that is left after all those Christians in the wilderness who are destroyed by the fowls and the beasts God will make peace between us and those beasts of the field and fowls that do the purging of the church that has become the synagogue of Satan.

Hsa 2:18    And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and [with] the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely.

Also look at how the armies of Babylon that brought the judgement of God on Jerusalem were called to be beasts

Jer 7:33    And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray [them] away.

Look at the next verse beyond the metaphor of the fowls in the tree (if one misses the real meaning here)  because it is the Saints  found in the body of Christ Jesus WHO ARE THE TREE!!!!!!!!!!!! Look at the next parable of Jesus regarding the kingdom of heaven where instead of birds it is leaven that is always sin!!!!!!!!!!

Mat 13:32       Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.

Mat 13:33   ¶   Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

Here the church is being shown as how corrupt it has become as it is full of leaven just like the tree is full of birds.

We are all born with beasts within us but when God becomes our King and rules in us those beast natures within us lay down at his feet as pictured in Revelations

Blessings

Doug

[Doug]

Dear Brother Doug

Considering the fact that the dragons in the wilderness are the Pharaohs who keep us in bondage to flesh and the tail of the dragon are the prophets that teach lies (present day church clergy) and that while those who have been caught up to heaven (entered the promise land) while those who do not and remain wandering in the wilderness are being nourished from face of the serpent  to face in manner of how birds feed their young (by the tail of the dragon that the mouths of false prophets and pastors)......... what in the world is causing you to maintain the direction you are on with your doctrine here???????

Eze 29:3       Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I [am] against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river [is] mine own, and I have made [it] for myself.

Eze 29:4       But I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales, and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales.


Eze 29:5       And I will leave thee [thrown] into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers: thou shalt fall upon the open fields; thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered: I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven.

There are some parallels between Ezekiel 29 and Ezekiel 38-39, about the invasion of Gog and Magog and their armies. The threat "I will put hooks into thy jaws" is made to Gog too. It suggests a connection between the two chapters. The "great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers" in Ezekiel 29:3 seems to allude to a crocodile; but not a literal one.

Both the dragon and the hordes of Gog and Magog "fall upon the open field," and of both it is said, "I am against thee." Their ultimate fate is similar:

Ezekiel 39:4
I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.

In both these judgments, people learn a similar lesson: "they shall know that I am the LORD."

These prophecies are probably both related to the prophecy of the marriage supper, in Revelation 19. This prophecy of Ezekiel is interpreted for us by the apostle John, who uses very similar words. Ezekiel's account says the sacrifice to which the birds are invited occurs upon the mountains of Israel, which are the prominent parts of the land of promise, and represent the promises, covenants, and prophecies of God to his people, including the kingdom of God, called "the mountain of the Lord's house," which eventually fills the entire earth.

Ezekiel 39:17-23
17 And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.
18 Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
19 And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.
20 Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD.
21 And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.
22 So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward.
23 And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword.
   
According to Ezekiel, the purpose and effect of this great sacrifice is to demonstrate God's judgments to the heathen. The house of Israel, which represents the church in the NT, is what is judged. By these events, the nations of the world come to understand that Israel went into captivity for their iniquity. How will the nations learn this, if they are the people who are killed, and devoured by birds? The interpretation of the battle of Revelation 19 proposed by H.M. Morris and other dispensationalists leads to this paradox.

Doug