Marriage Supper Of The Lamb Series

Marriage Supper of the Lamb

7 Blessings of Revelation Series

CCCAG 06-23-24

-Scripture- Rev 19:6-10

We are over halfway done with June already!

Isn’t that amazing? Friday, we had the summer solstice, which is the day of the year where we have the most sunlight. It’s all downhill from here, and the daylight will slowly grow less and less until December 21st when the days start to get longer again.

Something to look forward to.

Another thing about the month of June is graduations.

Children graduating to the next grade, teenagers graduating into high school, and of course young adults graduating from their primary education and entering their adulthood.

Some will join the workforce/college/start jobs, enter the miltary

Graduations are special. They are milestones in our lives that symbolize and reward some type of effort put forth to reach a goal.

The idea of graduation is even seen in the bible.

In the book of Revelation we see an event that is spoken of a lot when we talk about the end times.

It’s an event called “The Marriage Supper of the Lamb”.

Before we read the verse that speaks of this, let’s review where we are in the tribulation

In Revelation, John has been describing the final 3 ½ years of the Great Tribulation.

We talked about it briefly last week

Sores on those who worship the beast, also called the antichrist

All water turning to blood- every sea creature dying.

Complete darkness

Now-

The world capital from where the antichrist rules from, Babylon will be complete destroyed in an hour.

When we talk about destruction- Think fire/brimstone, wrath of God falling like it did in Sodom and Gomorrah.

Now The Apostle John switches his view from what is happening on earth, to what has been going on in heaven during the time of the tribulation.

What does John see? A party! In a party that has lasted about 7 earth years.

Why do I say earth years?

Because this party is occurring in heaven. Time will be experienced very differently there.

This party is the culmination of the church age. All of the Christians who have ever lived will attend this celebration, or another way of looking at it is to say it’s a graduation ceremony for those who have been faithful to God.

Let’s read about it-

Rev 19:6-10 Then I heard something like the voice of a vast multitude, like the sound of cascading waters, and like the rumbling of loud thunder, saying, Hallelujah, because our Lord God, the Almighty, reigns!

(7) Let us be glad, rejoice, and give him glory, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has prepared herself.

(8) She was given fine linen to wear, bright and pure. For the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints.

(9) Then he said to me, “Write: Blessed are those invited to the marriage feast of the Lamb!” He also said to me, “These words of God are true.”

Prayer

Although I have been talking about this event in terms of a graduation party- it’s important to see the rich symbolism being described for us in God’s word regarding this.

So from now on we will focus on this idea of this event being a wedding celebration.

During His ministry on earth, Jesus attended a few weddings, and He used the example of the Hebrew and near eastern wedding practices to highlight aspects about His coming Kingdom.

Understanding these verses in the context of the time and place they were written is key to interpreting this idea of the Wedding Supper of the Lamb.

Let’s look at the idea of Marriage from the Hebrew perspective, culture, and practice. Lets first talk about-

I. The preparation for the wedding

In bible times, a marriage had two phases.

The engagement or betrothal.

Then the celebration feast and consumption

Let’s look at the engagement/betrothal period. The difference between the bible’s definition and modern practice is that in bible times, an engagement meant you were legally married.

Remember when Jesus’ earthly father Joseph found out Mary was pregnant during their engagement? Joseph was contemplating divorce, not just breaking up.

(Strong emphasis)That’s critically important to remember as we move forward because it has everything to do with how we view ourselves today.

We are married to Jesus. But are in the betrothal period -not yet living in his home.

Yet we are still called the bride of Christ.

During the betrothal period, two things happened-

For the husband- he went and started his career.

He bought land for a farm.

Learn a trade and either work for the man who taught him the trade or open his own business.

The crux of what he was to do-

Find a job.

This is not very woke of me, but I don’t care. Men, particularly if you are young and married with a family, you are to work. I don’t believe choosing to be a stay-at-home dad unless there is a medical reason for it. I don’t care how much your wife makes, as a man your whole makeup is such that if you don’t have a job, you will not achieve your potential as a man.