January 29: BIRDFOOD
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. Revelation 19:21
These brief statements put a decisive ‘period’ on the visions of Isaiah and Jeremiah regarding the state of the world at the return of our Lord (see Isaiah 24:1-22; 51:6; Jeremiah 4:23-29; 25:33)
The followers of the beast and the false prophet constitute the rest [who] were killed on the day of the Lord’s return. John has earlier described what the rest are doing just before the Lord speaks the word that kills them. They are running in terror, seeking to hide themselves in caves and under rocks for fear of the Lamb (see Revelation 6:15-17; see also Isaiah 2:10).
Suddenly, they all drop dead. This is the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. The sword is a fitting symbol for the Word of God. All who are genuinely convicted by it will gain a desire to please Him and will study it carefully, for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). God is graciously allowing time to respond to His counsel.
The words of Jesus are symbolized as a sword because of the authoritative power behind them. His words have the power and authority to guide and mold, to refine and train. This is positive for all who desire to know Christ, and prepare for His second coming. The woman at the well had a genuine, seeking spirit, but ignorance had been her companion before she met Jesus. She did not know the gift of God (John 4:10). But salvation and joy came when she met Him and understood that He knew everything about her. And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.” (v.39)
However, the symbol of the sword is negative for those who are willingly stuck in Babylonian teachings. The practice of error in ignorance is seen by the Lord in a very different light from understanding the will of God and refusing to honor it. Jesus said to [the religious people], “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.” (John 9:41)
It is the mindset of sin that the KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS is out to destroy. Resolve right now to become entirely His, and let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing (James 1:4 – see also Revelation 14:12).
“He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.” John 12:48