Once upon a time there were two large birds. One bird was named Peck and the other was named Chuzzle. These big birds with their black wings and not so feathery heads were sleeping nicely like they did every night. This morning the sun rose above the horizon, and fell upon them each sleeping there with a head under a wing. Open went their eyes, stretch went their wings, but… as Chuzzle opened his mouth to speak Peck held up one of his feathered extremities people call wings. “Shhhh,” said Peck, and Chuzzle listened because Peck was never quiet unless something big was happening. Usually it meant a raccoon or possum had just departed this life on the nearby highway which served as their cafeteria. Chuzzle, though, had not heard any trucks. He had not heard any cars, not even the quieter electric ones the two legged, no-feathered animals called people had started rushing by in.
“Chuzzle,” Peck said with a more whispery voice than usual. “Something is about to happen.”
“Yum,” said and thought Chuzzle and he sniffed the air.
“No Peck has already sniffed the air. I don’t think sniffing will do you any good this morning.” Chuzzle then looked over at Peck with his puzzled bird eyes causing Peck to tell him more. “I had a dream about a great battle. It has been a long time since people had a good battle. My great, great grandfather Todgers used to tell the most delicious stories about people-battles. So…much…to…eat. He said sometimes they could not even take off after those meals.”
“Yum,” said Chuzzle, the obviously hungry but less historically enabled bird.
Both of them crouched down on their bird legs, spread their feathered wings and jumped up into the sky. Those first wing-beats always require a lot of effort, but once the soaring starts it is a piece of cake (except that scavengers like Peck and Chuzzle don’t think much of cake preferring redder, moister fare).
As they circled around toward the East they saw an angel. Yeah, birds get angels, if you had talked with any birds lately you would know that. They also see them a lot more than people do.
“Ohh, Peck, look, an angel is standing today in the sun. I like angels. Do you think he is warming his wings?” asked Chuzzle the bird with fewer wits.
“Nah, angel wings don’t get cold,” replied Peck who went on. “I wonder whether this one will just smile and wave or whether he’ll have something exciting to say.”
Another meal set by God
Well, it turns out that on the day Peck and Chuzzle turned their beaks toward the east the angel did have something exciting to say. There was even a person watching that day. That person wrote down what the angel said and it is recorded for us in two verses in Revelation 19. Let us hear what John, Peck and Chuzzle heard.
17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, 18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.” (Revelation 19:17-19–ESV)
If you want to know whether our bird friends got their meal read verse 21. To give you a hint I don’t thick Peck and Chuzzle were able to fly very well that day either. See bird dreams sometimes come true too.
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