Connect Matthew 24:28 with Revelation 19:17-18 regarding end-time events. Setting the scene: two stark snapshots of judgment Matthew 24:28 — “Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.” Revelation 19:17-18 — “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, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, commanders, and mighty men, of horses and their riders, and of everyone, both free and slave, small and great.’” A single prophetic thread • Both passages picture carrion birds converging on dead bodies. • The setting in each case is the climax of this age, when Christ appears in glory and defeats rebellious humanity (Matthew 24:29-31; Revelation 19:11-16). • The image is not symbolic only; it anticipates a literal battlefield strewn with the slain enemies of the Lord (cf. Isaiah 34:6; Ezekiel 39:17-20). Why Jesus mentions vultures in Matthew 24 • Context: He has just warned against false messiahs and promised a visible, unmistakable return (24:23-27). • The proverb about vultures underscores that His coming will be as obvious as birds circling a corpse; no one will miss it. • It also hints at the fate of those who oppose Him: like a carcass, spiritually dead and destined for judgment. How Revelation 19 fulfills the warning • John sees Christ ride from heaven, destroy the gathered armies, and cast the beast and false prophet into the lake of fire (19:11-21). • Immediately an angel calls birds “to the great supper of God”—the grim counterpart to the marriage supper of the Lamb (19:9). • The flesh-eating banquet is the literal outworking of the “vultures” image Jesus gave decades earlier. Key parallels 1. A slain multitude (Matthew 24’s “carcass” • Revelation 19’s “flesh of kings… mighty men”). 2. Birds summoned (implicit gathering in Matthew • explicit invitation in Revelation). 3. Same moment in the prophetic timeline: the visible, victorious return of Christ after the tribulation (Matthew 24:29; Revelation 19:11). 4. Divine sovereignty displayed—judgment is sure, swift, and public (Psalm 2:1-12; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10). Sequence of end-time events that ties the texts together 1. Global tribulation intensifies (Matthew 24:15-22). 2. Signs in the heavens announce the King (Matthew 24:29-30). 3. Christ descends with power and great glory (Revelation 19:11-16). 4. Earth’s armies rally in futility against Him (Revelation 16:14-16; 19:19). 5. He speaks, they fall; the battlefield is littered with corpses (Isaiah 11:4; 2 Thessalonians 2:8). 6. Birds gorge at God’s command—fulfilling Matthew 24:28 in the scene of Revelation 19:17-18. 7. The beast and false prophet are cast alive into the lake of fire; Satan is bound (Revelation 19:20 – 20:3). 8. Christ’s millennial reign begins (Revelation 20:4-6). Takeaways for today • Christ’s return will be visibly unmistakable and universally consequential. • Judgment on rebellion is certain; grace is still available now (2 Peter 3:9). • The same event that feeds vultures also ushers in the Kingdom—justice and hope arrive together (Matthew 25:31-34). |
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