Revelation
Chapter 19 Verse 21 (God's
WordTM)
![]() Home New American Standard Bible New International Version New King James Version Español Deutsch 21The rider on the horse killed the rest with the sword that came out of his mouth. All the birds gorged themselves on the flesh of those who had been killed.
If these are spiritual armies, then we can assume that this refers to the rest of evil or the demonic world. This may be what the odd statement Jesus used in Luke 21:25-26-28, 'the powers of the heavens' refers to. Most of us have so little experience in this realm. In the Old Testament, Jeremiah uses the phrase 'inhabitants of the earth' (Jeremiah 25:29-33) in his prophesy. The 'inhabitants of the earth' may well include these evil entities (Revelation 12:9). It shouldn't surprise anyone that just the SWORD or a word of TRUTH from the mouth of him who sat upon the horse can kill 'THE REST'. That is it's intended purpose (Revelation 19:15). Even while Jesus was on this earth, it only took a word:
Symbolically, the birds are a kind of cleansing force which will remove (or become filled with) evil (flesh). We don't understand this process very well for it implies that these birds ultimately are 'sacrificed' into the lake of fire. That there is a correlation is supported by the prominent use of birds in the purification ritual for leprosy (Leviticus 14:1-4-9) for example. The result, however, is to return the earth to its pre-evil state (Genesis 2:4-14) such that the rightful owner may inhabit it (Revelation 20:4-6). |
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