The Marriage Supper of Christ (Rev. 19)

Pastor Bob and Janet
Apr 8, 2018
3 min read

The cost of formal weddings has skyrocketed in the last few decades. It is beyond my comprehension why a wedding ceremony would cost more than a few hundred dollars. The most expensive wedding ever, costing around 110 million dollars, was the wedding of Prince Charles and Diana. That is way beyond my comprehension. The average wedding in America is around 34 thousand dollars. Yikes! Even that is way out of my range! I am sure the more lavish and expensive, the more beautiful a wedding would be. However, no wedding here on earth, no matter how expensive, will compare to the wedding super of the Lamb. Christ (the Lamb) and the church (the bride) are the wedding participants in the 19th chapter of Revelation. The bride has made herself ready, and she was given fine linen to wear. Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God's holy people.

I. The Marriage Supper

The marriage supper is a time of celebration and praise. It is like the reception party after a typical American wedding. It is a time to celebrate and rejoice. Verse two gives the reason for the praise. The great harlot (unbelievers, including false believers - those who practiced a religion about Christ instead of prepared a relationship with Christ) spent time corrupting the earth with immorality, so she will not escape the judgement of the Lord. The praise is emotional, as it should be. The followers of the Lamb often made great sacrifices. They have been weary and often discouraged- but no more! It is time to rejoice. Their perseverance has paid off. As believers, can we not look at this future time and not grow weary and become discouraged? Our bright future must affect our present circumstances- good ones and especially in the bad times. We mustn't let our circumstances stifle our praise. After all, we are the bride of Christ.

II. The Invitees

Our names are written on the guest list. We are the invited ones, and verse 9 says that we are blessed by being invited. Suddenly, the heavens open and the Lamb enters on a white horse waging war and pronouncing judgement. He rules with a rod of iron, striking down the nations. The sharp sword from his mouth is the Word of God. The invitees, the army of God, follow him into battle. With his sword, the Word of God, he rules the earth. In the end times, the church will not be a red brick building with 4 columns. As a matter of fact, today the church is not a building. The church is a worshiping group of people. No building is needed. I've been to a church in Sudan that meets under a tree. I've baptized believers in a muddy river in Zambia. I've led worship in a Chinese "underground" church that met in homes of believers. The Word of God is currently marching all around the world, mostly out of church buildings, and it is flourishing and saving the lost.

III. The Supper

The marriage supper is a time of victory and praise for the church, but for those who made war against the Lamb, they are thrown down into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is hell, the final resting place for Satan and his followers. Hell is a place of torment, is a place where there is total darkness, and it burns forever. Those who will eventually end up in the lake of fire are currently enemies of the cross. What defense do we have against our enemies? The Word of God is our mighty sword. Our strategy is to stay engaged with the Word. We must teach the Word by living it, and we must share the Word with those who are lost. Keep "fighting" until the day of the marriage supper of the Lamb, and be sure that you will get your invitation. Amen.