Revelation 19:21 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.

NIV: The rest were killed with the sword coming out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.

NASB: And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.

CSB: The rest were killed with the sword that came from the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds ate their fill of their flesh.

NLT: Their entire army was killed by the sharp sword that came from the mouth of the one riding the white horse. And the vultures all gorged themselves on the dead bodies.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.

The armies that followed the beast in his battle against Christ meet a fatal end. The sword from Christ's mouth slays them. Since the sword represents the Word of the Lord, it is safe to say that just a word from our Lord is sufficient to snuff out the lives of the beast's numerous soldiers. The "sword" has two edges (Revelation 1:16). It can save those who choose to believe in Jesus as Savior or condemn those who reject Him (Hebrews 4:12). The number of the slain soldiers is so numerous that all the vultures that are called to "the great supper of God" (Revelation 19:17) gorge themselves on the dead bodies. Of course, the slain soldiers experience not only physical death but also eternal death, as Revelation 20:11–15 explains.

Belief in the existence of hell and eternal suffering is unpopular with certain religious teachers. They would rather believe that everyone goes to heaven eventually, or they choose to believe in the annihilation of the wicked. However, the Bible is clear; hell is real and those who go to that dreadful place experience real suffering forever. The first to experience that torment, even before the millennial kingdom, are the Antichrist and the False Prophet (Revelation 19:19–20).

This victory sets up Christ's thousand-year reign on earth, described in chapter 20.

Revelation 19:11–21 presents one of Scripture's most spectacular moments of victory: the second coming of Jesus Christ. In this event, Christ returns to earth at the close of the tribulation. At His first coming to earth, Jesus appeared as a baby and sacrificial Savior. This time, He arrives as King of kings and Lord of lords. Many prior Scriptures prophesied this epic day of victory (Matthew 25; Zechariah 14:1–4; 2 Thessalonians 2:7–12; Hebrews 9:27–28; Jude 1:14–15). Christ arrives in a blaze of glory, obliterating His enemies single-handedly, at the head of the armies of heaven. The Antichrist and False Prophet become the first two cast into the lake of fire, ushering in the beginning of Christ's millennial reign on earth.

Revelation 19 begins with a multitude in heaven singing a doxology to God. He is praised for judging religious Babylon and avenging the martyrs. They are joined by the twenty-four elders (Revelation 4). Voices cry out joyfully that the Lord reigns and the marriage supper of the Lamb is ready. Then, John sees heaven open and observes Jesus—now coming as the glorious and invincible King of kings and Lord of lords—as He descends from heaven to execute judgment. The armies of earth gather to battle the Lord. The battle concludes with the Antichrist and False Prophet being thrown into the lake of fire and the graphic slaughter of their followers.

This chapter describes the victorious second coming of Christ, His victory over the Antichrist and the False Prophet after the fall of Babylon (Revelation 17—18). Christ's first arrival on earth was to redeem (Matthew 2; Luke 2:1–21; John 1:1–14; Galatians 4:1–5). The purpose of His second coming is judgment and the establishment of His reign on earth (Psalm 2). This is separate from the rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:13–17), the event in which Jesus returns in the air to take Christians from earth to be with Him. Jesus' second coming begins the millennial kingdom, leading up to the final judgments and the appearance of the New Jerusalem.

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''