The Lamb On The Thone Series

INTRODUCTION:

Revelation 19:7-9 says, The wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.) Then the angel said to me, “Write: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb.”

When was the last time you attended a Wedding? The last one I performed was an outdoor wedding. The setting was lovely. The weather was perfect. The bride looked beautiful … and the preacher did a great job, of course.

But I have to admit that as the father of two girls who are both married, I look at weddings a little differently than I used to. When I see the beautiful bridal gown and the flowers, the decorations and the food, I tend to see dollar signs. (Any of you dads who have given weddings for your daughters know what I mean, I’m sure!) It reminds me about what Oliver North … who has 4 daughters … had to say about the Father of the Bride. He said: The Father of the Bride has only 4 jobs: Show up, Shut up, Pay up, and Smile.

The way we do things in America, the Father of the Bride usually pays the wedding bills. But the book of Revelation tells us about a coming Wedding Supper where the Bridegroom pays for everything. This is the wedding to end all weddings, and it’s called the WEDDING SUPPER OF THE LAMB. As the Lamb, Jesus paid the Highest Price to purchase His bride. He gave His life as a sacrifice for our sins so that we can be presented to Him as a perfect Bride. Look in Revelation 21:2:

I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. Revelation 21:2

You may not realize it, but this verse is describing you and me. The New Jerusalem symbolizes the CHURCH. As part of the Church, you will be one day be THE BRIDE.

· The Bride: Revelation 21

One Sunday at church, a little girl heard a sermon about the Second Coming of Christ. When they got home, she asked:

"Mommy, do you believe Jesus will come back?"

"Yes, I surely do."

"Will he come back today?"

"Well, yes, I suppose He might.”

"In just a few minutes?"

"Yes, dear."

The little girl thought this over, and then said, "Mommy, would you comb my hair?"

Well, the truth is, we don’t have to worry about how we’ll look to the Bridegroom when that big day arrives. The Bridegroom has given his Bride a spotless, shining white robe to wear. He has also adorned her with dazzling jewels. Revelation 21:9-25 describes in detail how beautiful the church (symbolized as the NEW Jerusalem) is in the eyes of her eternal Bridegroom.

It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. Revelation 21:11

John goes on to list 12 kinds of precious gems that adorn the Bride. Stones like sapphires, emeralds, topaz, and amethyst. And if that isn’t dazzling enough, he describes gates made of single pearls and streets of pure gold, like transparent glass.

This is the way we will look to Jesus on that day. It is hard to imagine, but you and I will be as beautiful to him as a bride walking down the aisle is to her bridegroom.

I can well remember walking my daughters down the aisle at each of their weddings. Both girls looked absolutely radiant in their wedding gowns and veils. But as we walked down the aisle, what I saw ahead of me was the face of the bridegroom who was waiting for his bride. In both cases, I saw the look of pride and joy on the faces of my new sons-in-law. And you can bet the groom wasn’t looking at me. He had eyes only for his bride.

That’s the way it should be. And that’s the way it will be on that Heavenly Wedding Day when the Bridegroom is finally united with his Bride. Since we --- as the Church --- are the Bride of Christ, we might want to ask, who is this bridegroom who is willing to pledge Himself to us for all eternity?

· The Bridegroom: Revelation 22

Who is Jesus? Revelation 22 – the last chapter of the Bible – answers that question for all time. But not everyone looks to the Bible for truth. So people come up with all sorts of ideas about who Jesus is.

· Secularists – see Jesus as a good person ---- perhaps with delusions of grandeur --- who died an unfortunate death