Please explain Matthew 24:28.
Let’s read this solemn verse spoken by the Lord Jesus: “For where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather” (NASB). I believe it is well-known that if a dead body is lying out in the open, vultures will soon gather to devour it. When will this take place and what will bring this about? In verse 15 of this chapter the Lord mentioned the “abomination of desolation which was spoken of through the Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place.” Daniel prophesied (in Daniel 9:27 and 12:11) that the Temple in Jerusalem would be defiled and we learn in Revelation 13:11-15 that an image of a human ruler will be set up by the Antichrist and all men will be forced to worship the image or they will be killed. The Lord Jesus went on to say in verse 21, “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.” The worship of a mere man will usher in the “Great Tribulation,” in which many of the judgments found in the book of Revelation will fall upon this ungodly world resulting in the death of many. At the end of the tribulation the Lord Jesus will return to earth as the King of kings, and Lord of lords to set up His kingdom. We read of His coming in verse 27, “For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashed even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be,” and then He adds, “Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.” How solemn! When the Lord returns there will be millions of corpses and we will see that God will actually gather these flesh-eating birds to consume their life-less bodies.
In Revelation 19:11-21 the Apostle John speaks of this same event where the Lord returns as a Warrior King to judge the nations who oppose Him and he gives us a very graphic picture of the carnage described in Matthew 24:28. In verse 15 we read, “From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.” Verses 17-18 are especially relevant to our subject, for they say, “Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, ‘Come, assemble for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great’.” Who are these armies that will meet with such a miserable end? Verse 19 provides the answer, “And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.” We can’t go into detail here, but if you read Revelation 16:12-16; 17:12-14; and Psalm 2:1-2, you will see that all the armies of the world will be gathered to the land of Israel for the infamous “battle of Armageddon.” Initially, they are gathering to fight against one another, but when they see the Lord of Glory returning from heaven they will unite to “make war against Him who sat on the horse [the Lord Jesus] and His army [the redeemed of the Lord]. But we saw in verse 15 it will only take a Word from the Lord’s mouth to defeat them. Verse 21 repeats this along with the feast they will provide for the birds that are gathered: “And the rest of them were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.” (214.9) (DO)