REVELATION - CHAPTER 19 - The Marriage Supper of the Lamb
Revelation 19
THE MARRIAGE SUPPER OF THE LAMB
Tuesday, November 13, 2012, the Year of Our Lord
Pastor Carolyn Sissom
“ALLELUIA FOR THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY REIGNS”
The word Alleluia (Hallelujah) is used four times in the Revelation 19 and is the only place it is used in the New Testament. In the Old Testament the word “Halal” is used in what is known as the Hallelujah Psalms.
Rev. 19:1-4: “After these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, to the Lord our God; For true and righteous are His judgments; for he has judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and has avenged the blood of His servants; at her hand. And again they said Alleluia. Her smoke rose up for ever and ever. The twenty-four elders and the four beasts fell down and worshiped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.”
The collapse of godless rebellion and oppression on earth gives rise to jubilation in heaven. In chapter 18:20, Heaven, the Holy Apostles and Prophets was told to rejoice over the destruction of Babylon. In the last chapter we heard the woeful grieving of the kings, merchants and seamen who lost everything when Babylon fell. Now the host of heaven is going to give us a Hallelujah chorus. This will surpass anything heard on earth and it comes in obedience to the command in 18:20. When that is done we will hear a new command from the throne ordering heaven to break forth with an even greater chorus as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords rides victorious on his white horse.
For mortal men the vindication of God’s righteousness is a sobering spectacle even when it is most welcome, for there is none who is not liable to His judgments in some degree. “If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand”? But saints and angels in heaven with purified vision see this lower world in the light of God’s glory, and their praise undisturbed by remorse or regret.
THE MARRIAGE SUPPER OF THE LAMB
19:5-6: “A voice came out of the throne saying, Praise our God, all you His servants, and you that fear Him, both small and great. 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 reigns.”
“Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns”! This is the keynote of the whole book. Though the enemies of God rage against His people like savage beasts and great Babylon exults in her insolence. Jesus remains supreme, “keeping watch above His own” and ready to call His foes to account when their rebellion has passed the point of no return. “Reigns” is in the present tense as in Psalm 93:1: “The Lord reigns. He is clothed with majesty. The Lord has clothed and girded Himself with strength; indeed, the world is firmly established, and it will not be moved.”
19:7-8: “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife, has made herself ready. To her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.”
The Lamb is the Messiah; the bride is the Messianic community, the glorified community of the people of Christ.
John 3:29: “He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but he friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full.” In this parable, John identifies his ministry as the best man at the wedding of the Lamb.
Mt. 25:1-2: “The kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were prudent…”
From my own experience, I believe the visitation of the bridegroom at one level is personal to each of us. In the 1980’s, I had a dream I was in a pure white bridal gown and the bridegroom took me into the bridegroom’s chamber. I do not believe that was a one time visitation and every one who did not have their lamps lit at that time missed their visitation. I believe it is personal and timely for each of us. I thank God I must have done something right at the time of my visitation. Because of this visitation, and it certainly was not the Second Coming, I am inclined to think it was part of being made ready for the marriage feast and participation in Jesus’ wedding feast of His earthly ministry.
In Mt. 22:14, Jesus’ earthly ministry is likened to a wedding feast. The parable of the king’s wedding feast for his son, (dedicated to the Pharisees), understands Jesus as the son/groom and a rejection of the invitation as a rejection of Jesus himself. No one can participate in this feast unless they are born again into the family of God.
Our participation in the Lord’s Supper is a continuity of the feast of his life, death, burial, resurrection and the covenant of the New Testament. However, there is still the greatest feast if all to which we are invited.
Rev. 19:9-10: “And he (the angel) says to me, Write, Blessed are they which are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb, and he says to me. These are the true sayings of God…”
Mt. 25: 3-6: “When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them. The prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep, but at midnight there was a shout, Behold the bridegroom come out to meet him. Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out’. But the prudent answered, saying ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves’. While they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast and the door was shut. Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open up for us’. But he answered and said, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you’. Be on the alert then for you do not know the day nor the hour.
2 Cor. 11:2: “I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband that to Christ I would present you as a pure virgin.”
Rev. 19:9-10: “And he (the angel) says to me, Write, Blessed are they which are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb, and he says to me. These are the true sayings of God…”
Fine linen, bright and clean was given her to wear. The white garments of the multitude in 7:9; the fine linen represents the sum of the saintly acts of members of Christ, wrought in them by His Spirit.
As the heavenly praise fades into silence, John is ordered to write about a special blessing, an invitation to a great feast. Every feast celebrated to the Lord is but a foretaste of the greatest feast of all:
We have studied the many feasts of the Bible:
- Passover – Jesus is our Savior, whose sacrificial blood was shed at Calvary. We are redeemed by His blood and saved from the destroyer.
- Unleavened bread – He is the Bread of Life, the One who removed the leaven of sin from mankind. We forsake Egypt and begin to walk with God in holiness, sincerity, and truth.
- Firstfruits – Jesus is the resurrected messiah, the firstfruits of them that slept. We arise to walk in newness of life, knowing Him in the power of His resurrection.
- Pentecost – He fulfilled the law and is the Anointed One who baptizes with the Holy Ghost. We are filled with the Holy spirit and endued with power from on high.
- Trumpets – He is the clear-sounding, living Word who introduced the message of perfection (maturity), the One who was the beginning of it. We hear the call to come to maturity within the rent veil.
- Day of Atonement – He is the High Priest who atoned for man, the Scapegoat and Lord’s goat who put away sin, sickness, poverty, and death. We experience the baptism of fire as we afflict our soul humbling ourselves.
- Tabernacles – He is all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, the Lord of this feast, the booth in whom the Father lived and moved and had His being. We receive the full adoption and the redemption of our bodies becoming a tabernacle for all the fullness of God. This is the feast of the Glory of God.
Christ’s second coming is here described as a marriage feast or the marriage supper of the Lamb. Though Jesus feasted with his followers as a human (the wedding feast of his earthly ministry), the consummation of Jesus with His saints at the second coming is here described as a wedding banquet between the Lamb of God and his bride, the church.
On Mount Zion (the church) is the central location of all biblical feasts, the Lord Almighty has prepared, as Isaiah predicted:
“A feast of rich food for all peoples,
A banquet of aged wine—
The best of meats and finest of wines,
On this mountain he will destroy
The shroud that enfolds all peoples,
The sheet that covers all nations,
He will swallow up death forever
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears
From all faces
He will remove the disgrace of his
People from the earth.”
The imagery of biblical feasting still points to the future when the Lord God will resurrect all his people from every age to live with him in eternal joy. Every feast is a foretaste and culmination of this glorious day and this glorious feast.
I fell at his feet to worship him. He said to me, See you do it not; I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren that have the testimony of Jesus; worship God; for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
Did John mistakenly assume the speaker to be the Lord? After all, the voice came from the throne saying, ‘”These are the true words of God”. This assurance is repeated in 21:5; 22:6. This is a warning to the churches against angel worship. I am a fellow servant does not indicate he is a man as some still preach. I do not believe that because he came from the throne room of God. Angels do not share the divine nature but are ministering spirits sent to serve the heirs of salvation. “Worship God”, the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy”.
The drum beat of Jesus’ message…”If I go, I will come again!” and now He is about to do it.
The Pharisees demand Jesus tell them when the kingdom of God would come (Luke 17:20). He replied, saying in effect, “You can’t see it by looking here or there, because the Kingdom of God is within you”.
THE HOLY WAR
Rev. 19: 11-12: “I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He does judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written, that no man knew, but He Himself.”
I saw heaven standing open… Chapter 1 promised He would return and every eye would see Him. He is seated on a white horse--- a symbol of victory of a conquering king…whose rider is called Faithful and True. This horseman is different from the first horseman of chapter 6. He is the conquering Messiah, the faithful and true witness of 3:14. With justice he judges and makes war. The theme of the holy war of the end-time already announced in 16:14 & 17:14 recurs frequently. Its features are well established, but John resolutely bends the, recalcitrant as they may be to his purpose, to serve as symbols of the victory of the Lion of the tribe of Judah who conquered by his death. His eyes are like blazing fire on his head are many crowns. More than the dragon’s seven of 12:3 or the imperial beast’s ten in 13:1. They represent the universal allegiance which He receives.
He has a name written on him that no one knows but He Himself. The secret name given to the overcomer in 2:17. Here the mystery of the person of Christ is suggested. This name is apparently neither of the revealed names of verses 13. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood. The picture is drawn from Isa. 63: 1-3, but there the conqueror’s crimsoned garments are dyed with the blood of his Edomite foes. This is one of the recalcitrant features of the imagery which John re-shapes to portray the gospel of the Christ who triumphed by the shedding of His own blood.
11:13: “He was clothed with vesture dipped in blood; and his name is called The Word of God.” This is a notable point of contact with the Johannine gospel (Jn. 1: 1-14) and identifies Him as the Creator of the world. As the Creator of the world and everything in it, He has the power, the right and authority over the whole world.
11: 14-15: “The armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses; clothed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations; and He shall rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
The armies of heaven are the called, chosen and faithful of 17:14. They are dressed in fine linen, white and clean –they share the victory of Jesus. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations – Isa. 11:4—The sword symbolizes the irresistible power of His word of judgment and grace. He will rule them with an iron scepter.
Ps. 2:9: “You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
Isa. 63:2: -3: “Why is Your apparel red and your garments like the one who treads in the wine press? I have trodden the wine trough alone. From the peoples, there was no man with me.”
Rev. 19: 16: “”He has on His vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. This name of universal dominion aligns with Deut. 10:17: “For the Lord your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe.
Rev. 19: 17-20: I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven. Come and gather yourselves together to the supper of the great God. You may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses, of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond both small and great. I saw the beast and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him that sat on the horse, and against His army. The beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.”
We have met the angel of the waters and the angel of fire. Now we meet an angel who has authority over the birds that soar in midair to gather them at his call.
The word Armageddon is mentioned one time in the battle, Rev. 16:16.
There is another important battle involving Israel that has a similar scene where the birds of the air are invited to devour the flesh of slain enemies. The Gog/Magog battle is described in Ezekiel 38 and 39. The king of the north attempts to invade Israel. It ends in a similar fashion as the battle of Armageddon. God intervenes to protect Israel and the invaders are slaughtered. The birds of the air are invited to feast on the carcasses of slain warriors. This ghastly picture is drawn from Ezek. 39: 17-20.
It appears the Gog-Magog war will follow the Psalm 83 war (which I believe has begun). The Gog-Magog war is also an end time battle and will occur prior to Armageddon. The powers that militated against God and his people suffer final and irreparable destruction. The fate of Daniel’s fourth beast, whose dead body was thrown into the blazing fire (Dan. 7:11). Here the creatures which embody imperial force and emperor-worship are thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur---John’s symbol of the second death in 20:14; 21:8. With verse 21, these words emphasize the completeness of the overthrow of the enemies of God. From first to last Revelation is the book of the triumph of Christ. It was by no material weapons, but by the power of the gospel that Christ conquered the pagan Roman Empire; by that same power He has continued to conquer in history, and will conquer to the end.
It seems from scripture that Gog-Magog war will last months and perhaps years. The Battle of Armageddon will be over quickly.
The supper of the great God and the marriage supper of the Lamb appear to be simultaneous. Great glory and joy for the redeemed and death to the wicked.
The wicked of the earth hate Jesus and the “elect”. It is the “election” that causes the hatred. Human power says if I can’t control you, I will destroy you. You wouldn’t think anyone would be blinded enough to take on the Lord and His army. Yet the kings of the earth do gather and will gather to fight God Almighty, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and His Bride.
The mark of the beast will be a mark on the right hand or forehead. It is conceivable it will be a computer chip. In chapter 16:2, everyone who took the mark will receive a plague of sores.
Rev. 19:21: “The remnant were slain with the sword of Him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of His mouth; and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.”
Here we see the beast and the false prophet cast into the lake of fire, but nothing is said of Satan. In John’s next vision, the Lord deals with Satan for his 1000 years in the abyss.
Prov. 10:30: “The righteous shall never be removed; but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth.”
Carolyn Sissom, Pastor
Eastgate Ministries, Inc.
Scripture from K.J.V. – I entered into the labors of F. F. Bruce International Bible Commentary. Comments and conclusions are my own and not meant to reflect the views of those from whom I entered into their labors.