The End Times as God Reveals Them Pt. 60 Revelation 19: Details about the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

In our last post we looked at the special relationship of the Church or Bride of Christ, with our Lord and Savior, the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. A future time of great blessing is reserved for all those saints invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. There are some other details connected with this grand event that we need to look at.

Many groups of saints are invited.

Revelation 19:6-9  And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. 7) Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8) And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 9) And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. 

So far, John has mentioned several groups of saints in the book of Revelation and they are distinct from each other. 

The saints who are the Bride of Christ are all those who have been born again since the church began at Pentecost in Acts 2. 

God will seal 144,000 saints who will be Jews doing a specific work for God during the tribulation period. 

We also read about the martyred saints who were under the altar of God in heaven and we read about many saints who are people who are saved by faith during the Great Tribulation. 

There are also Jewish saints from the Old Testament who were saved by faith in God and some Gentile saints. These particular saints became part of the firstfruits offering that Jesus Christ took to heaven to give His Father in accordance with the law. (See Exodus 22:39; 34:26; Leviticus 23:10-14; Numbers 18:12; Deuteronomy 26:2-4).

Old Testament Saints are Raised up

Matthew 27:51-53  And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; 52) And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53) And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. 

Matthew tells us that after the resurrection of Christ from the dead, many saints came out of the grave and appeared to many people. These were part of the first fruits offering the Son of God gave to His Father. It is a promise of a vast and productive future harvest that will take place at the Rapture of the church, and throughout the tribulation period as people are saved by faith in God. (See 1 Corinthians 15:20; 23; Ephesians 4:8-10). 

Ephesians 4:8-10  Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 9)  (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? 10) He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) 

Jesus led captivity captive. What does this refer to? It refers to all people saved by faith during the Old Testament who could not go to heaven when they died because Jesus Christ had not yet come and finished the work of redemption. God prepared a special place for those saints called Abraham's bosom or paradise. Their souls rested in that place and Christ joined them after He laid His life down on the cross. Luke 16:19-31 gives us a picture of that place. One section was like a restful garden setting where the saints saved by faith were resting and the other section was the place of fire and torment. 

Those Old Testament saints were captives in Abraham's bosom but Christ set them free when He rose from the grave and He took them home to the heavenly Father as a first fruit offering. 

Three stages of Marriage contract. 

Three stages of marriage were observed during the time when John lived. 

The first stage is the legal consummation of the marriage covenant by both sets of parents with a dowry being paid to the bride's parents from the groom. The bridegroom signals his intention of marriage with his beloved and they are betrothed to each other. The bride prepares herself as a virgin, pure and undefiled. She prepares wedding clothing, makes spices and other household essentials that she will bring to the marriage.  The bridegroom prepares and readies all  things for His bride, finding and building their home, furnishing it, and working to have all things set up to provide for his bride. 

The second stage is when the bridegroom comes to claim his bride, which Christ will do at the Rapture of the church (See Matthew 25:1-13; John 14:1-3; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). The third stage is a wedding feast that lasted for several days with both families and other invited guests (See Matthew 22:1-14; John 2:1-11). 

The text in Revelation 19 makes it clear that in John's vision, Christ will have taken His Bride, the Church to heaven for the legal consummation of the marriage covenant. This is seen in the text in verse 7 because the Church is no longer called a bride. Instead the church is called the wife of Christ. 

Think about the three stages of marriage. Christ is fulfilling the first stage during the Church age. The gospel will be preached right up until the day of the rapture. Christ is constantly adding members to His body, the church, each day as people around the world respond by faith to the gospel and are born again. Ongoing sanctification is part of the preparation of getting all things ready for receiving the bride by Christ at the Rapture of the church. The individual believers  who make up the bride are preparing by learning God's word, worshiping God, telling others about her bridegroom (witnessing for Christ) and seeking to honor God in all aspects of their daily lives. 

The second stage will be when Christ comes in the clouds to call His bride home with the trumpet of God and the voice of the archangel. This is when Christ receives His bride. In Revelation this happens in chapter 4 because the church is not mentioned after that text. John heard a voice saying "Come up hither" and he was whisked up to heaven to see visions of future things.  

The third stage is the actual celebration of the marriage supper. This too, is a future event. This stage seems to correspond with the second coming of Christ to the earth as King of kings and Lord of lords. 

This will be the time that the faithful remnant of the Jews will be allowed to come to the feast. The gospel of the kingdom is going to be preached during the 7 years of tribulation and many Jews will respond by faith. However, many will try to enter without having been born again and they will be denied. This is what the parable of the Ten Virgins teaches us. 

Revelation 19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. 

John ended this section about the marriage supper of the Lamb reminding all of us that God has invited all to come although not all people who are invited will respond. Matthew gives another picture of the Father inviting people to come to the wedding feast of His Son which illustrates the phrase "Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb." (Matthew 22:1-14).

John used two phrases in concluding the marriage supper of the Lamb. First we read that "These are the true sayings of God." This is the idea that all scripture is given by inspiration of God. Since this is true, a wise person will listen to what God says and seek to understand what this means both for this life and for eternity. What we believe should impact our behavior. Doctrine shapes duty and our faith will influence what we think, say and do.

Prophecy honors the Son of God.

Revelation 19:10  And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. 

John was so moved by all that he saw concerning future events that he fell down to worship. The angel quickly stopped John from worshiping him by reminding the aged apostle that he too, was a servant of God just as John was. He redirected John to worship God. 

The phrase "testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" reminds us that Jesus Christ is the singular focal point of all prophecy. The whole purpose of Spirit inspired prophecy is to point to Jesus Christ and to bring Him glory and honor. 

John 16:13-14  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 14) He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 

Jesus taught about the Holy Spirit's role in relationship to the Son of God. The Spirit of God is the author of prophecy and what He hears the Father speak is what He inspired & guided the human authors of scripture to write. Prophecy will show us what is going to happen in the future. Specifically, the Spirit of God is going to glorify Jesus Christ because He will receive  truth about Christ and reveal it to believers.  

Thoughts to Ponder...

We can praise God for dealing with so many groups of saints throughout the ages. He never neglected or forgot any of the sheep of His pasture.  All of His promises are sure and secure. 

The marriage covenant that John was familiar with gives us an idea of what Christ accomplished when He ascended to the Father and what He will do when He calls the church home. We will participate in and fully enjoy the marriage supper of the Lamb. 

Are you a born again child of God? Are you trusting the God of eternity with your soul? If not, I urge you to think about the claims of Jesus Christ and I pray that you will hear and heed the call of the gospel. 

The Father in heaven has been honoring His Son, Jesus Christ, since He rose from the dead and returned to His throne in heaven. All prophecy is focused upon the work and person of Jesus Christ and is designed to bring Him glory. 

As this book moves toward the conclusion of the End Times, we will see more and more honor heaped upon Christ. May we seek to honor and glorify Him right now, and each day until He calls us home.

Bob