Revelation 19:18; Both Free and Bond

Revelation 19:18 (KJV) 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.

The word “That” that begins v18 introduces a statement for the gathering of the birds – 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.

The victims of Harmagedon will be food for the birds of prey. The groups listed include all classes of mankind and every status of life. In Ezekiel ‘s account, the vultures feed on the bodies of great men only, but here it is everyone including the rank and file (Swete). God’s judgment through this battle is no respecter of persons. The indignity of having their bodies remain unburied recalls the same treatment these people meted out to the two witnesses in Revelation 11:9-10 (Ford), except there the birds of prey did not enter the picture.

Similar categorisations of humanity appear elsewhere in this book with the closest similarity being Revelation 6:15 and Revelation 13:6 (cf. Revelation 11:18; 19:5; 20:12).

Revelation 6:15 (KJV)  And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; 

Revelation 13:6 (KJV)  And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. 

Revelation 11:18 (KJV)  And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. 

Revelation 19:5 (KJV)  And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. 

Revelation 20:12 (KJV)  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 

Some of the categories here overlap with others (Beckwith).

The only group not listed in one of the earlier lists are “the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them.”

The sweeping reference of “all” clearly refers to those who have accepted the mark of the beast and yielded allegiance to the false Christ (Ladd). An exclusion of some of the world’s population to allow for the survival of all “the nations” at the beginning of the Millennium is unnecessary and unjustified. This is all-inclusive, though “all” refers to all kinds of people. The only survivors of this awful confrontation will be those loyal to Christ who have not died or suffered martyrdom. These are non other than the sheltered Israelites of Revelation 12:13-17 who will enter the kingdom as mortals and will repopulate ate the earth.

[Robert L. Thomas, Revelation 8-22 – An Exegetical Commentary, Moody, 1995, 394-395]