The Greatest Wedding in HIStory, Revelation 19:6-9

 

Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.” Revelation 19:7-9

We opened this chapter last week with a whole lot of hallelujahs.

All eyes were on the Lord.

“Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God!  For true and righteous are His judgments…Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! (Revelation 19:1-6)

Now, the focus widens a bit, to include; His Bride and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

Wait. What? a wedding? Are you kidding? Now? After all the blood and guts and gore? The great whore is no more. The earth still smoldering from the pouring of the last bowls. There’s an army gathering for Armageddon…and God is planning a, wedding?

Yep. Been planning it for a long time.

Actually, it’s a great time for a wedding. It’s a picture-perfect moment for what this book is all about, a great revealing, disclosing…revelation.

Consider, the Bride of Christ, juxtaposed to the illegitimate bride (the great harlot) whose smoke goes up for ever and ever.

Contrast the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, to the soon to follow feast, where birds of prey are filled with flesh of those who took the mark of the beast. Revelation 19:21. 

God paints a vivid picture, reflecting the beauty of His invitation, verses the horror of rejecting it.

Who do you choose?

Which feast do you want to attend?

This day I set before you Life and death…choose Life. Deuteronomy 30:15

God loves weddings.

The Bible begins, ends and fills the middle with examples of weddings.

God performed the very first wedding. Genesis 2:22.

The first command was regarding its consummation—be fruitful and multiply. Genesis 1:28.

Jesus first miracle was at a wedding—turned water to wine.  John 2:1-11.

He described the Kingdom of Heaven, with a parable of a wedding. Matthew 22:1-14.

He illustrates the rapture with a wedding parable—the ten bridesmaids. Matthew 25:1-13.

And as a grand finale, we wind up here, with the Bride of Christ and, The Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Revelation 19:6-9. 

God loves weddings. It’s His secret weapon of reconciliation.

Adam said of Eve, she’s bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh.

And the two became one.

Jesus left His Home, and put on skin; became bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh, to make a way for us, to become one with Him.

Jesus uses marriage language to explain His plan:

“In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” John 14:2-3.

Now, that may not sound like marital language, but it is…at least it was, to them, back then.

You see, back then a marriage was somewhat different.

Arrangement.

It starts with an arrangement. (Ever heard of arranged marriage?).

Two dads agree that their kids would make a good couple. They may decide this when the kids are as young as two years old. They negotiate a contract and agree upon a price (dowry, bride price), that the groom or groom’s parents pay the bride’s family. This is like alimony in advance, to help the bride, in case the marriage goes south.

Betrothal.

When the kids reach marital age, (which may be in their teens), the contract is set in motion. Vows are spoken. A cup of wine is offered to the bride. If she accepts the cup, it’s like saying yes, to the guy on bended knee with stars in his eyes, and a ring in his hand. Then, they are, betrothed. Although, they do not consummate the marriage, they are legally bound to one another, and it takes a divorce, to dissolve the union.  

Preparation.

After that, the groom goes away, to his father’s house, to prepare a place for them.

The bride and her bridesmaids know about when the time is near, so they’re prepared, watching, waiting, ready.

After about a year, when dad says it’s time, the groom returns, to gather his bride and take her home.

Consummation & Celebration.

 It’s a big procession. The groom and his crew, come unannounced, usually at night. There’s a shout, “The bridegroom is coming!” The bride is found, ready and waiting. She is hoisted up and carried away.

The marriage is consummated, and there is a great celebration, a seven-day feast; the marriage supper.

Now, the parallels are perfectly clear.

God is both, Father of Groom and Bride. He made the arrangement. Wrote the contract.

Jesus, paid the bride price…with His own blood.

He did so at Gethsemane, Gabbatha and Golgotha, and the cost was great.

He paid in the garden of Gethsemane where He prayed, and wept, and sweat great drops of blood, and agreed to the contract by saying, “Not My will, but Thine.”

He paid it at Gabbatha, where after a mock trial, He was ridiculed, scourged, pierced with thorns, and beaten.

Finally, He paid in full at Golgotha where He hung, like a criminal, on a cross, nails driven through His hands and feet.

Through all of that, He kept His bloody, swollen, eyes, on…

You.

This moment.

This is the moment Jesus has been waiting for.

This is the moment that made all the other moments worthwhile.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2.

He considers the joy of the moment, being united with you, worth enduring that moment at, Gethsemane, Gabbatha, and Golgotha.

Now, He’s paid the price. Extended the cup. It’s up to you, to accept or reject.

We, who accept, are His bride, His betrothed.

He has gone to His Father’s house, to prepare a place for His bride. Which is what He’s doing right now.

We, His Bride, are to be preparing to meet Him, watching and ready at any moment for His return, to take us Home. Which will happen any moment now. The Church, the Bride, will be caught-up (raptured) and carried to the Father’s house, the place the Groom has prepared.

This, will be the consummation and celebration of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.  A seven-year, feast.

Once again, our Lord has painted a picture of contrasts. The Greatest Wedding in HIStory, verses, The Greatest Tribulation in HIStory.

Both are followed by the largest funeral in HIStory.

Which, Lord willing, we’ll look at next week.

Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, thank You, thank You, thank You. We cannot express our gratitude, for what You’ve done. Writing the contract with Your blood, paying the bride price with Your life.

Thank You.

Lord, we’re watching, waiting, anticipating, Your arrival. We so look forward to seeing You, face to face.

We love You, always.

Amen.

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