Note: There is a companion sermon to this one, titled THE VOICE OF THE BRIDE. I preached them on two consecutive worship assemblies, with this sermon being first, and THE VOICE OF THE BRIDE, following shortly afterward. Both sermons are on Sermon Central.
THE VOICE OF THE BRIDEGROOM
I. Introduction
Turn to Revelation, chapter 18.
A great deal of Revelation is about the work of salvation accomplished by Jesus Christ, and its far-reaching, even its eternal effects. Written in prophetic symbolism, some of its details are difficult if not impossible to chart against time, streams of events, or figures in world history. But viewed as a fusion of causes and effects, we can easily understand its essentials, just as its earliest readers could.
The forces for good (those on the Lord’s side):
• The one on the throne
• 24 elders
• 4 living creatures
• The Lamb
• Angelic beings
• Martyrs
• The two witnesses
• The woman clothed with the sun, who was with child
• The heavenly Jerusalem
Arrayed against these are the forces of evil - Satan’s power structure:
• The great red dragon
• The beast from the sea
• The beast from the earth
• The image of the first beast
• Fallen angelic beings
• The harlot who sat on the beast, drunk with the blood of the martyrs, and on whose forehead was written her name--Babylon
These are symbols, on the one hand, the God of heaven and earth, his Son, the Holy Spirit, the Lord’s church, and all those who serve him, some to the extent of laying down their lives. On the other hand, there are symbols for Satan, anti-God governments, the apostate church or false religion in general, false prophecy, and the world’s enticements to licentious, decadent living.
___________________
Babylon was one of the earliest cities in the world. It lay in the plain of Shinar, in what is now Iraq. The city was built by Nimrod the hunter, Noah's great grandson through Ham. At the beginning of the city’s history, an attempt was made to build a mighty tower there; but the effort was thwarted by God, who confused the languages. Because of its deplorable, sinful history, Babylon is used as a symbol of vices, sensual pleasures, and defiance of God.
Such was the case when John, exiled on the isle of Patmos, saw Babylon's destruction. Literally, it had lain in ruins for centuries then, and has never been rebuilt. In John's vision, Babylon was a figure of wickedness and rebellion. In its destruction, John saw a horrible and desolate scene. Among other descriptions, John wrote:
Rev. 18:21-23 - …the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer.
The day Babylon fell, Belshazzar, the Babylonian king, saw a man's hand writing a message on the wall of the king's palace, telling him Babylonian kingdom would be seized by the Medes and Persians. It occurred that very day, and the king was slain. Some years later, but still 500 years before John recorded the Revelation, Babylon’s fortifications were destroyed by Persian king Xerxes I, husband of Esther, for whom the Old Testament book is named.
II. The voice of the Bridegroom and the Bride
A few decades before Babylon’s fall, Jerusalem had fallen to Babylon. Jeremiah pleaded for repentance of Judah in the final years before Jerusalem's fall signaled the end of the kingdom of Judah. Four times he warned "the voice of the bridegroom and the bride will not be heard any longer," referring to Jerusalem's fall, should the people remain impenitent. (Jer. 7:34, 16:9, 25:8-10, 33:10-11)
The voices of the bridegroom and bride are the sounds of love--vibrant, fresh, alive and in full bloom. The voices are associated with gladness and rejoicing, both of a couple newly married and friends who wish them happiness in their new and blessed relationship.
These voices both show the joy of those who speak, and impart joy to those who hear.
III. The voice of Jesus
Perhaps neither Jeremiah nor John intended for their use of the figure to be applied to another Biblical figure - that of Jesus as the Bridegroom and the church as his bride. But the happiness, rejoicing and optimism where such voices are heard, and the barrenness where they are absent, are a striking parallel to these figures.
Jesus is consistently portrayed in the New Testament as the Bridegroom.
• One of His parables serves to encourage readiness for the Bridegroom's coming (Matt. 25:1-13).
• The picture of Jesus as the Bridegroom is blended with another portrayal of Jesus (as a Lamb), when in Revelation 21:9-10, John was shown the bride of the Lamb - the heavenly Jerusalem.
• Eph. 5:22-30 makes plain that the church is the bride in this marriage.
• John heard and saw Jesus in a vision. He described the voice of Jesus as being "like the sound of a trumpet." Rev. 1:10 In verse 12, John says he turned to see the voice that was speaking.
• In verse 15, John described the voice as being "like the sound of many waters." The description invokes a vision of the thunderous power of a mighty waterfall, such as Niagara Falls.
It is a unique blessing for human-kind to hear the speech and understand the heavenly and eternal truth revealed by the mouth of the very Son of God!
The voice of Jesus the mortal man was unlike any other. Those who heard it marveled, not because it sounded like a trumpet or “many waters,” nor its pitch, volume, or resonance; but what the voice of Jesus said! When he had spoken to the multitudes from the mountain, they were amazed that he spoke as one having authority, and not as their scribes. (Matt. 7:28-29) The scribes could only study and ponder what they read; but Jesus is the one of whom the scriptures are written.
At the transfiguration, the Father spoke from heaven to command,
Hear Him! Matt. 17:5
Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
So closely connected are Jesus' words with Jesus himself that John wrote "In the beginning was the word [something said (including the thought); by implication a topic (subject of discourse), also reasoning (the mental faculty)]...and the word became flesh, and dwelt among us." (John 1:1 and 14)
IV. Attributes of the Voice
What are the attributes of the Bridegroom's voice that make it so unique and compelling?
A. The voice of authority:
• We have noticed that the voice from heaven said "Hear Him!"
• We also saw that He spoke "as one having authority, and not as their scribes"
• The voice commanded Lazarus to come forth from the tomb, and will do so again. (John 11)
• It commands the universe. He stilled a stormy sea with the words "Peace, be still!" Mark 4:35-41
B. The voice of life:
• It gives life. John 5:25-26 - "Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself”
This is not about the resurrection of those who are in their graves, for he continues in John 5:28-29 - "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.”
• John 6:63 - "words...are spirit and life"
• John 6:67-68 - "to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."
• John 8:51 - "if anyone keeps my word, he shall never see death"
C. The voice that is eternal
• Mark 13:31 "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words will not pass away."
His words are imperishable and timeless.
D. The voice that is true:
• Isa. 53:9 - "He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth."
• Jn. 8:14 - (to the Pharisees) "my witness is true"
E. The voice that gives cleansing: (The words cleanse the hearers)
• John 15:3 (the vine) - "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you."
The voice of the Bridegroom, heard and heeded, washes us clean.
F. Audible only to those attuned:
• It is inaudible to some Jn. 8:43-47 You do not hear because you are not of God
• Jesus spoke to Pilate in the same way John 18:37 - “Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?" Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."
V. Hearing the Voice
• Faith in the hearer is the receptor - the eardrum against which it falls, transforming words into truth, comprehension, cleansing, and life.
Heb. 3:18 - 4:2 - read
• Those who hear it follow Him. John 10:2-4 - “But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.”
• It offers intimate, personal communion to those who hear it. Rev 3:20 - "Behold , I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”
(This was to lukewarm Christians in Laodicea)
• The voice of the Bridegroom will announce the eternal reunion 1 Th 4:16-17
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
When Jesus came to Jerusalem, he began to teach in the temple, saying things that were outrageous to the Jewish leaders. The chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest Jesus, so they could bring him before the Sanhedrin and confront him with charges. The officers returned without Jesus to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked, “Why did you not bring him?” They answered, “No one ever spoke like this man.” John 7:46
In Jesus’ brief ministry, was there anything he needed to say, and didn’t?
No. Everything that was needed was spoken.
Does Jesus speak to you? I don’t mean audibly and conversationally, but do his words enter and find lodging in your heart? (For as he himself said to the Laodiceans, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him.”
Do you hear the voice of the bridegroom?
