Revelation 19:18

18 Feast on the flesh of kings and captains and champions, horses and their riders. Eat your fill of them all - free and slave, small and great!"

Revelation 19:18 Meaning and Commentary

Revelation 19:18

That ye may eat the flesh of kings
Of the earth, and of the whole world, who will fall in the battle at Armageddon; see ( Revelation 16:14 ) ( 19:19 ) and design either those antichristian kings and states, which have drunk of the wine of Rome's fornication, and will bewail the downfall of Babylon, ( Revelation 18:3 Revelation 18:9 ) or those Pagan kings which will be drawn in by the pope and Turk, to aid and assist in this war, or both, when, upon the defeat of them, the Christian princes will seize upon, possess, and enjoy their kingdoms and dominions, which is meant by eating their flesh; (See Gill on Revelation 17:16).

And the flesh of captains;
of their generals, and officers under them:

and the flesh of mighty men;
the common soldiers, who are so called, ( Jeremiah 46:5 ) who will be rifled and plundered:

and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them;
whose rich trappings and clothes will be taken away from them:

and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great;
that is, the substance of all the inhabitants of the antichristian empire, both eastern and western, of whatsoever rank, state, and condition they be, ( Revelation 13:16 ) . The metaphors are taken from, and there is a manifest allusion to, ( Ezekiel 39:17-20 ) and the whole denotes the entire slaughter and utter ruin of the whole antichristian army, and the certainty of Christ's victory over it before hand; and also the destruction of all that are the followers of antichrist, throughout his dominions, which will now wholly fall into the hands of the saints, and be enjoyed by them.

Revelation 19:18 In-Context

16 On his robe and thigh is written, King of kings, Lord of lords.
17 I saw an Angel standing in the sun, shouting to all flying birds in Middle-Heaven, "Come to the Great Supper of God!
18 Feast on the flesh of kings and captains and champions, horses and their riders. Eat your fill of them all - free and slave, small and great!"
19 I saw the Beast and, assembled with him, earth's kings and their armies, ready to make war against the One on the horse and his army.
20 The Beast was taken, and with him, his puppet, the False Prophet, who used signs to dazzle and deceive those who had taken the mark of the Beast and worshiped his image. They were thrown alive, those two, into Lake Fire and Brimstone.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.