Revelation 19:17

Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out in a loud voice to all the birds flying overhead, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God,

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The narrator observes an angel positioned in the sun addressing all birds flying overhead. This announcement occurs immediately after the declaration of the rider’s royal title and directly precedes the description of the birds consuming the flesh of the defeated.

The words — ἑστῶτα (hestōta) means standing, denoting the angel’s fixed posture. ἡλίῳ (hēliō) translates to sun, specifying the exact location of the proclamation.

The thread — The summons of birds to a feast appears in Revelation 19:21 and parallels the warning cry of an eagle in Revelation 8:13. Jeremiah 12:9 also references birds of prey circling in a context of judgment.

Why it lands — The text establishes that divine judgment is publicly proclaimed and universally executed. It requires the reader to acknowledge the certainty of the coming reckoning without altering the stark imagery.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;

Cross-references

Revelation 19:21 And the rest were killed with the sword that proceeded from the mouth of the One seated on the horse. And all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.
Revelation 8:13 And as I observed, I heard an eagle flying overhead, calling in a loud voice, “Woe! Woe! Woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the remaining three angels!”
Jeremiah 12:9 Is not My inheritance to Me like a speckled bird of prey with other birds of prey circling against her? Go, gather all the beasts of the field; bring them to devour her.
Ezekiel 39:17 And as for you, son of man, this is what the Lord GOD says: Call out to every kind of bird and to every beast of the field: ‘Assemble and come together from all around to the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you, a great feast on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood.
Isaiah 34:1 Come near, O nations, to listen; pay attention, O peoples. Let the earth hear, and all that fills it, the world and all that springs from it.
Isaiah 56:9 Come, all you beasts of the field; eat greedily, all you beasts of the forest.
Revelation 14:6 Then I saw another angel flying overhead, with the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation and tribe and tongue and people.