Revelation 19:21

The rest were killed
The rest emphasizes the unique treatment of the previous two in comparison with these. Unlike the Beast and the False Prophet, the rest of those who war against Christ are killed. Their destination is Hades (Luke Luke 16:22-23) where they undergo immediate torment while awaiting the Great White Throne Judgment (Rev. Rev. 20:11+). They will be in Hades awaiting judgment for the one thousand year period of the Millennial Kingdom.

with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse
As we saw earlier, Jesus Himself treads the winepress (Rev. Rev. 19:15+) and does all the killing at His Second Coming. The sword proceeding from His mouth is a figure pointing to the word of God as the basis for the death of those who oppose Him. See commentary on Revelation 19:15.

The bloodshed is enormous (Rev. Rev. 14:20+):

Now see that I, even I, am He, and there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; nor is there any who can deliver from My hand. For I raise My hand to heaven, and say, “As I live forever, if I whet My glittering sword, and My hand takes hold on judgment, I will render vengeance to My enemies, and repay those who hate Me. I will make My arrows drunk with blood, and My sword shall devour flesh, with the blood of the slain and the captives, from the heads of the leaders of the enemy.” (Deu. Deu. 32:39-42)

Come near, you nations, to hear; and heed, you people! Let the earth hear, and all that is in it, the world and all things that come forth from it. For the indignation of the Lord is against all nations, and His fury against all their armies; He has utterly destroyed them, He has given them over to the slaughter. Also their slain shall be thrown out; their stench shall rise from their corpses, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood. (Isa. Isa. 34:1-3)

Jesus strikes the nations with the sword (Rev. Rev. 19:15+), including unbelievers from the nation of Israel. During the entire period which is Jacob’s Trouble and the Great Tribulation, God has said that two-thirds will be cut off and die with only one-third remaining (Zec. Zec. 13:8). As a result, the remaining third will “call on My name, and I will answer them” (Zec. Zec. 13:9). This is the horrible reality attending the spiritual regeneration of the nation of Israel (Eze. Eze. 37:1; Rom. Rom. 11:25-27). Truly, to whom much is given much is required! Heavy is the responsibility of the chosen nation.¹ Most of the Jews who survive the Second Coming are found in the special place which God has prepared for them. See Sheep in Bozrah.

It is shortly after this time when Jesus takes up the throne of David and all from among the nations who were not direct participants in the Campaign of Armageddon are gathered before Him. There, He will separate the sheep from the goats and judge their eternal destiny by how they have treated His brethren—the faithful Jews who suffered so terribly during Jacob’s Trouble and the Great Tribulation (Mtt. Mat. 25:31-46).² Those who demonstrated their faith by providing for His brothers will be given entry into the kingdom, arriving in the kingdom just in time for the marriage feast to follow.

And all the birds were filled with their flesh
They were filled is ἐχορτάσθησαν [echortasthēsan] : “eat one’s fill, be satisfied.”³

The most graphic portrayal of Christ’s second coming is found in Revelation Rev. 19:11-21+. In this extended passage Jesus Christ is described as leading a procession of angels and saints or armies in heaven to claim the earth, destroy the armies of the world, and defeat the Antichrist and False Prophet. This passage shows that Christ’s return will be one that entails great physical destruction and many deaths. For those who are not Christ’s own, it will be a terrifying and terrible event. For those of us who know Him as Savior, it will be a time of great joy, vindication, and anticipation. . . . Let us remember that for the believer this present life on Earth is the worst things will ever be for us. But, for the unbeliever, this present life will be the best they will ever experience.⁴

People may indulge their unbelief and passions during these days of forbearance and grace, and see no disadvantages growing out of it. They may be angry at our earnestness, and account us croakers and fools when we put before them the demands and threatenings of the Almighty. But “woe to him that striveth with his Maker!” There is a deluge of bottled fury yet to be poured out on them that refuse to know God, and on the families that call not on his name, from which there is no escape, and from whose burning and tempestuous surges there is no deliverance. God help us to be wise, that we come not into that sea of death!⁵

Notes

¹ Concerning Israel as the chosen nation: Ex. Ex. 3:7, Ex. 3:15, Ex. 3:18; Ex. Ex. 6:6; Ex. 19:5-6; Lev. Lev. 20:26; Deu. Deu. 4:34, Deu. 4:37; Deu. 7:6-8; Deu. 10:15; Deu. 14:2; Deu. 26:18-19; 2S. 2S. 7:23; 1K. 1K. 8:53; 1Chr. 1Chr. 16:13; 1Chr. 17:21; Ps. Ps. 105:6; Ps. 106:6-7; Ps. 135:4; Isa. Isa. 41:8; Isa. 43:1, Isa. 43:10; Isa. 44:1; Isa. 45:4; Jer. Jer. 10:16; Mtt. Mat. 24:22; Rom. Rom. 9:4; Rom. 11:5.

² Some try to make His brethren mean the redeemed in general. But this has the fatal objection of being unable to explain who the sheep are. If His brethren are the redeemed and the sheep inherit the kingdom (Mtt. Mat. 25:34), then the sheep must be the redeemed as well and the distinction collapses. The Jewish context of Matthew Mat. 24:1 and Mat. 25:1 indicate that His brethren are the Jews of the Tribulation, among them the 144,000 sealed of God (Rev. Rev. 7:4+).

³ Frederick William Danker and Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 883.

⁴ Thomas Ice, “Some Glorious and Incomparable Promises of the Bible,” Pre-Tribe Perspectives, vol. 8 no. 10, February 2004, p. 5.

⁵ J. A. Seiss, The Apocalypse: Lectures on the Book of Revelation (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1966), 443.