2023/07/10

99. "The Great Supper of God"

It is written, "Then I saw an angel standing in the sun" (Revelation 19:17). Considering that the expression "standing in the sun" coincides with the description in the Gospel, "it was the third hour, when they crucified him" (Mark 15:25), it is clear that from then on, the scene in Revelation shifts to the point at which Jesus was crucified. 

Revelation continues, "[W]ith a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly in midheaven, 'Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great'" (Revelation 19:17-18). These words of the angel are the fulfilment of the testimony of Jesus on the Cross, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34), in the manner of the Spirit of prophecy (cf. blog № 98). 

This prayer of Jesus shows that many people act according to various desires created by human knowledge and experience, such as the lust for power, authority and control, but they fail to realise the fact. The "flesh" that the angel commanded the "birds" to "eat" is these desires, and if these desires are eaten up by the birds, they will come to know what they do. So, let us carry forward our discussion. 

The words of the angel commanding the "birds" to "eat" find a similar expression in the Gospels. It is a phrase in the Parable of the Sower (cf. Matthew 13:3-23), "the birds came and devoured them" (Matthew 13:4). Jesus himself added a commentary to this parable. So, we shall rely on it and try to interpret the words of the angel commanding the "birds," considering that, as mentioned above, they were uttered at the time of Jesus' crucifixion. 

"[T]he flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men" are the flesh of the chief priests, scribes, elders and others who had derided and mocked Jesus on the Cross (cf. Matthew 27:39-44). They might have had the opportunity to hear the Word, but they never realised it because their own lust for authority and control would take the Word from their memory (cf. Matthew 13:19). For them, the Word is a seed that fell along the path and the birds came and devoured it (cf. Matthew 13:4). 

"[T]he flesh of all men, both free and slave" is the flesh of those who heard and were interested in Jesus's words which he had cried with a loud voice before death, "Eli, Eli, la'ma sabach-tha'ni?" (cf. Matthew 27:46-49). For them, the Word is the seeds that "fell on rocky ground, where they had not much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched; and since they had no root they withered away" (Matthew 13:5-6). They are the ones who, even though they hear the Word and immediately accept it with joy, "has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away" (Matthew 13:21).

(To be continued)

Maria K. M.