That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all [men, both] free and bond, both small and great.
18. captains ] Lit. captains of a thousand; see on Rev 6:15.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
That ye may eat the flesh of kings – Of the kings under the control of the beast and the false prophet, Rev 16:14; Rev 17:12-14.
And the flesh of captains – Of those subordinate to kings in command. The Greek word is chiliarchon – chiliarchs – denoting captains of a thousand, or, as we should say, commanders of a regiment. The word colonel would better convey the idea with us; as he is the commander of a regiment, and a regiment is usually composed of about one thousand people.
And the flesh of mighty men – The word here means strong, and the reference is to the robust soldiery – rank and file in the army.
And the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them – Cavalry – for most armies are composed in part of horsemen.
And the flesh of all men, both free and bond – Freemen and slaves. It is not uncommon that freemen and slaves are mingled in the same army. This was the case in the American Revolution, and is common in the East.
Both small and great – Young and old; of small size and of great size; of those of humble, and those of exalted rank. The later armies of Napoleon were composed in great part of conscripts, many of whom were only about eighteen years of age, and to this circumstance many of his later defeats are to be traced. In the army that was raised after the invasion of Russia no less than one hundred and fifty thousand of the conscripts were between eighteen and nineteen years of age (Alisons History of Europe, vol. 4, p. 27). Indeed, it is common in most armies that a considerable portion of the enlistments are from those in early life; and besides this, it is usual to employ mere boys on various services about a camp.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 18. That ye may eat the flesh of kings] There shall be a universal destruction; the kings, generals, captains, and all their host, shall be slain.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
In the former verse God invited all the ravenous fowls to a supper, he here showeth their cheer. The meaning is no more than this, that in the great battle of Armageddon, which was for the destruction of all the remainder of the enemies of the church, whether papists, or atheists, or Turks; men of all sorts and orders should be slain, and their dead bodies made meat for the fowls of heaven, that feed on dead flesh.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
18. Contrast with this “supper,”Rev 19:17; Rev 19:18,the marriage supper of the Lamb, Re19:9.
captainsGreek,“captains of thousands,” that is, chief captains.The “kings” are “the ten” who “give theirpower unto the beast.”
free and bondspecifiedin Re 13:16, as “receivingthe mark of the beast.” The repetition of flesh (in theGreek it is plural: masses of flesh) five times in thisverse, marks the gross carnality of the followers of thebeast. Again, the giving of their flesh to the fowls to eat, is arighteous retribution for their not suffering the dead bodiesof Christ’s witnesses to be put in graves.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
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
Re 16:14 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, Re 18:3 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 comments on Re 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,
Jer 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, Re 13:16. The metaphors are taken from, and there is a manifest allusion to, Eze 39:17 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.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
That ye may eat ( ). Purpose clause with and the second aorist active subjunctive of .
The flesh of kings ( ). “Pieces of flesh” (plural of , flesh) and of all classes and conditions of men who fell in the battle (Rev 6:18; Rev 11:13; Rev 13:16; Rev 19:5; Rev 20:12). War is no respecter of persons.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Captains [] . See on Mr 6:21; Luk 7:2.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “That ye may eat the flesh of kings,” (hina phagete sarkas basileos) “In order that you all (flesh-eating birds) may eat fleshes of kings(royal rulers) brought low,” rulers that in judgment serve only as buzzard bait, for vultures and eagles of the earth, Job 39:27-30; Luk 17:37.
2) “And the flesh of captains,” (kai sarkas
“Fleshes (physical bodies) of ranking army officers captains fleshes you all may eat;” This call seems to be to the region of Megiddo and the valley of Jehoshaphat for the last carnage clean up of all earth’s battles, Zec 12:1-9; Joe 2:2-3; Joe 2:11-15.
3) “And the flesh of mighty men,” (kai sarkas ischuron) “And flesh-bodies of strong men,” even men once strong in physique and worldly functions, such as had since cried in vain for the rocks and mountains to fall on them to hide them from God’s eternal wrath, but there was no hiding place, Rev 6:14-17; Dan 5:18-23; Dan 5:30.
4) “And the flesh of horses,” (sarkas hippon) “And fleshes of horses,” of numerous kinds of horses.
5) “And of them that sit on them,” (kai ton kathemonon ep, auton) “And eat them that sit (ride) upon(the horses),” soldiers killed in battle.
6) “And the flesh of all men,” (kai sarkas panton) “And (eat ye) flesh of all manner of men;” These shall all be a final carnage of vulture, eagle, or buzzard bait, Job 39:27-30.
7) “Both free and bond, both small and great,” (eleutheron te kai doulon kai mikron kai megalon) “Both freemen and slaves, both small and great ones,” by earth’s statues of measures. Such a prophecy is found Eze 32:21-31; Eze 39:17-18.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
18. Eat the flesh The enumeration takes in the army ranks, kings, captains, that is, chiliarchs or commanders of a thousand, our colonels: mighty men, powerful fighters, and the entire cavalry, that is, doubtless, the whole army. To these are added all men; the men in italics is not in the Greek. It means all adherents to the side of old darkness.
It is to be noted, very specially, that the living nations are not cut off by this massacre. In Rev 19:15 it is said that he will smite, but not destroy, the nations; in Rev 20:3 it is said Satan is shut down that he should not deceive the nations; and in Rev 20:8, at close of the millennium, Satan does go forth to deceive the nations. It is demonstration then, that through this battle, and through the millennium, and until the great white throne of Rev 20:11, there is an uninterrupted roll of the successive generations of the nations.
Flesh of kings To show the rich variety of the supper, flesh is repeated at each enumerated rank; and the word flesh is, in fact, in the Greek, plural; thus taking in the individuals of every rank.
Horses, and of them that sit on them The cavalry, probably including the whole army, as both armies seem to be on horseback.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
Ver. 18. That ye may eat ] He alludes to Eze 39:4 ; Eze 39:17 . Gog and Magog were a type of Antichrist: “Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, saith the Lord,” Eze 38:3 ; where, if Gog is the Great Turk, and Meshech Cappadocia, where he first settled himself, why should he be called “prince of Tubal,” also, that is, of Spain, France, and Italy, as Jerome and Josephus interpret it (neither do Bellarmine and Gretser dissent)? Is it not to show that, after the fall of Babylon, the Antichristians shall call in the Turk and other pagan princes to invade and distress the Church, that they may all perish together, and feed the fowls with their dead carcases?
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Rev 19:18 . In the ancient world, this was the worst misfortune possible for the dead to lie unburied, a prey to wild birds. On the famous “stele of the vultures” (bef. 3000 B.C.) the enemy are represented lying bare and being devoured by vultures, while the corpses of the royal troops are carefully buried.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
the. Omit.
mighty. Compare App-172.
men, men. Omit.
free. See Rev 6:15.
bond. App-190. See verses: Rev 19:2, Rev 19:5. Compare Eze 39:17-22 concerning this, or a subsequent, period. The invitation of “beasts” to the feast in Ezekiel not mentioned here.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
ye: Deu 28:26, 1Sa 17:44, 1Sa 17:46, Psa 110:5, Psa 110:6, Jer 7:33, Jer 16:4, Jer 19:7, Jer 34:20, Eze 29:5, Eze 39:18-20, Mat 24:28, Luk 17:37
of all: Rev 6:15, Rev 13:16
Reciprocal: Gen 49:11 – he washed Deu 20:17 – thou shalt Jos 8:29 – the king 1Ki 14:11 – that dieth 1Ki 21:24 – that dieth 2Ch 32:21 – the leaders Psa 63:10 – a portion Psa 107:40 – contempt Isa 18:6 – General Isa 24:21 – the Lord Isa 25:11 – he shall bring Isa 29:2 – and it shall Isa 30:33 – for the king Isa 34:6 – the Lord hath Isa 40:23 – General Isa 56:9 – General Jer 12:9 – come ye Jer 15:3 – I will Jer 50:30 – all her Jer 51:21 – General Eze 30:11 – and fill Eze 31:13 – General Eze 32:4 – General Eze 39:17 – Speak Eze 39:20 – General Dan 7:9 – till Zep 1:7 – for the Lord Mar 9:3 – exceeding Jam 5:5 – as in Rev 2:22 – and them Rev 11:9 – and shall not Rev 19:21 – and all
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Rev 19:18. The idea of Rev 19:17 is expanded in this verse, the enemies of Christ being grouped under the various classes mentioned in it.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
The angel’s invitation to the birds indicates how devastating the destruction of Christ’s enemies will be when He returns. Some experts have estimated that perhaps one million birds of prey migrate annually between their nesting places in Africa to the south and Europe and Asia to the north. They cross the only arable land bridge that connects these continents, namely, Palestine.
Jesus Christ will destroy all who resist Him, people from all classes of society and from every status in life (cf. Rev 6:15; Rev 13:16). The indignity of having their bodies unburied is a judgment in kind since they did not bury the bodies of the two witnesses (Rev 11:9-10; cf. Eze 39:11-15). Their death also recalls the ignominious fate of Jezebel (2Ki 9:30-37).
The only people left alive will be faithful believers who have not died or suffered martyrdom during the Tribulation (cf. Rev 12:13-17). They will enter the Millennium with mortal bodies and will repopulate the earth (cf. Gen 9:1).